


Glittering Together

by Wonderwhale



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Families of Choice, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Maryse Lightwood Is A Good Mother, Mentor Ragnor Fell, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Swearing, Warlock Alec Lightwood, and mostly in a/ns, even tho her ways might not be the best, just a little
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:07:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23881285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonderwhale/pseuds/Wonderwhale
Summary: When the marks appeared her world seemed to crumble to ruins. She knew what she was supposed to do. But he was her son. All the responsibility and honour be damned. She would do anything to keep him from the dangers of their community. That's how Ragnor Fell, a warlock known for his teaching at the Shadowhunter Academy, found himself opening a door at the middle of the night to a crying Maryse Lightwood with a young boy clinging to her hand."Please! Help me protect my boy."Alexander Lightwood grew up knowing he would never be able to fill the role of a shadowhunter. His body wasn't made to handle it. What he didn't know was the true reason of why he was so different from the others. But when strange things start to happen in the shadow world community and a familiar face from his childhood returns, his whole life is about to change completely.
Relationships: Magnus Bane & Ragnor Fell, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Ragnor Fell & Alec Lightwood
Comments: 190
Kudos: 352





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Mmm so, (and I can't stress this enough) I love this trope. I don't know what it is, but the idea of Alec being secretly a warlock and finally ending up learning about his skills and meeting Magnus that way is just super cool. There isn't enough of fics about this! So, here I am making it myself!
> 
> I am dyslexic and far from being fluent in English. My grammar is what it is and Grammarly and the blessed red line of Google Docs are not perfect. So brace yourself for a lot of annoyance and feel free to point out my stupid mistakes. Gods, I need a beta...
> 
> I try to update this as often as possible, but even during quarantine, I'm still studying online. As sad as it is, I'm afraid I have to prioritise my philosophy essays over whatever this might turn out to be. I have no idea how long this will be. I just had the idea while in the shower. Welp, I'm sure we'll figure it out as we go along.
> 
> Enjoy!

She gave birth to her firstborn alone. Just in case. Even her husband was not allowed to see the baby before she was absolutely certain she had been mistaken. The child, her baby boy, appeared to be just like all the other babies she had seen before. Still, the memories of that fateful night all those months ago lingered in the back of her mind. What-ifs conquered her thoughts even when she finally let her husband hold her son. ~~Hopefully~~ Their son. This child would carry on their legacy and he would certainly make her very proud. As long as she had been wrong, of course.

It would be a couple of years before they'd have another child. This time she was certain everything would be fine. ~~Her~~ Their son was going to grow up to be a fine shadowhunter. She could see it in the way he would protect his baby sister from the dangers of cuddly housecats and evil butterflies alike. She saw it in the serious expression on his face when she told her stories about the great things their ancestors had done. When she told him stories about the other creatures of this world. She tried to pick the kinder ones. Just in case. No. He _would_ grow up to be a fine shadowhunter. Maybe she had been just paranoid all those years ago. The small, even though rather odd, things that happened around him were just coincidences, right?

When the marks appeared her world seemed to crumble to ruins. She knew what she was supposed to do. But he was her son. All the responsibility and honour be damned. She would do anything to keep him from the dangers of their community. That's how Ragnor Fell, a warlock known for his teaching at the Shadowhunter Academy before it was closed, found himself opening a door at the middle of the night to a crying Maryse Lightwood with a child clinging to her hand.  
"Please! Help me protect my boy."  
At first, the warlock didn't see any reason for the woman's despair. But then the young boy - not even five, he supposed - raised his head and revealed his face, that had until that point been hidden behind a messy mop of black hair.

It was hard to miss the golden, scale-like patterns that covered the child's face. Gold followed his hairline, on some places extending further on his face, forming glittering highlights on his cheekbones, cheeks and jawline. It descended his forehead in the shape of and downwards pointing arrow, travelled down the bridge of his nose to the tip. Ragnor thought he saw something glitter in the back of the child's hand. He could only guess that the gold had spread all over this small, scared-looking boy's body. He was still so very, very young, but Ragnor could sense the magic that flowed through his veins. This child might look like Maryse Lightwood, underneath all the gold, of course, but Ragnor didn't think this boy was the child of her husband. From the desperation in her eyes, he guessed she had a least had the same suspicion. He had only confirmed it.

"Please Fell! There must be something you can do to help. He cannot be seen like this, they will kill him, or worse", Maryse pleaded and the boy looked downright terrified. Ragnor understood what she didn't say aloud. If the Clave heard about this boy.  
"Oh bugger", he muttered under his breath and crouched down to look at the dimly glittering boy in the eye. "Hello there, lad. My name is Ragnor Fell. What's your name?" The boy seemed to hesitate a bit but finally answered when his mother gently nudged him to offer his free hand for the warlock.  
"My name's Alec", he sounded calmer than he looked, Ragnor could give him that, as he gently shook the man's hand. Most of the younger - and older, let's not try to deny the facts - shadowhunters very clearly bothered from Ragnor's more... unique appearance.  
"Well then, Alec. It is lovely to meet you. Why don't you two come in, then? We have a lot to discuss, I think", Ragnor straightened up and - only slightly reluctantly - motioned the Lightwoods to come inside his small flat.  
"Thank you so much for doing this", Maryse looked like a mountain had been lifted off of her chest. Ragnor resisted his urge to scoff at her gratitude.

"I'll let you know, that I am not doing this for you at all. Now tell me, Alec Lightwood, what do you know about Warlocks?"


	2. Does solitaire count?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexander "Alec" Gideon Lightwood was starting to grow tired of his life as an invalid shadowhunter. 
> 
> He was tired of his seemingly endless shifts of monitoring duty.  
> He was tired of watching the backs of his siblings when they left for a patrol.  
> And most of all, he was tired of being so tired all the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Umm... yeah. Hi. Damn.
> 
> Sorry if I sound a bit out of breath. The thing is, that I most certainly am very out of breath. I couldn't ever have expected the positive reaction this fic has received after I posted it. Gosh. Wow. Now I can physically feel how my own expectations are going up. I gotta make this good. I should maybe figure out the plot...
> 
> So I have been debating about the update schedule for this fic... there are two possibilities I could work with and I'd love to get some opinions on it. 1. I write a bit shorter chapters (something like this) and I can update a bit more often. Once or twice a week maybe? Idk, we'll see. Or 2. I'll write longer chapters, but I'll update more seldomly. Like once a week at a maximum. Writing English is taxing to me and it takes quite a lot of time :'D 
> 
> I also realized that I kinda managed to mess up the timeline before I even got to mess it up the way I was going to. The Academy was closed after the uprising and that happened before the events of the prologue. Instead, Ragnor lived in a cottage in Idris for a while after that. I went and fixed it and let's all agree on that that never happened ;) Also I had to tweak the summary of the fic a bit, as I came up with a better way to do this...
> 
> Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy the first chapter!

Alexander "Alec" Gideon Lightwood was starting to grow tired of his life as an invalid shadowhunter. 

He was tired of his seemingly endless shifts of monitoring duty.  
He was tired of watching the backs of his siblings when they left for a patrol.  
And most of all, he was tired of being so tired all the time. 

  


* * *

  


Every once in awhile Alec would meet a person who remembered him from his early childhood.  
"Oh, what a great young shadowhunter you were back then", they would say dramatically with an almost pity-like look in their eyes.  
"It is such a shame you turned out to be... like this."  
No one seemed to know the right words to describe Alec. "Like this" seemed to be the nicest way to say "an invalid, a useless shadowhunter without runes or the body fit to fight". Alec had heard both. A lot. He preferred to hear the latter. Why beat around the bush? Alec was not fit for what he was supposed to be, the end, storytime is over. Hearing kinder ways to comment on his condition didn't change anything. It didn't make him feel any better when he had to stay behind when others went out to risk their lives for the greater good. But if Alec truly got to choose, he wouldn't want to hear any comments whatsoever. He didn't need any extra reminders. No, his life got that thing covered ages ago.

At the young age of five, Alec's plans for becoming the greatest shadowhunter and making his family proud faced a great threat. While on the hunt for evil demon cats with a few other children, Alec had mysteriously passed out, knocking another boy to the ground with him. No one seemed to be able to figure out what was wrong with the boy. Tests were taken. Nothing was wrong. To everyone's surprise, Maryse Lightwood decided to invite a warlock to look at her son. No one else was present for the visit Ragnor Fell did to the Lightwood residence in Idris except for Maryse, Alec and he himself. Warlocks request, everyone thought and waited patiently for the results. Alec didn't remember much from that afternoon. The vague memories of the meeting held an image of a green man with horns, white hair and weird-looking fingers, who had done only a little magic, even though he clearly was a warlock. If Alec recalled correctly, was most of the meeting spent with his mother talking - or arguing, to be specific - with the warlock. For some reason, Alec remembered how he had patted Alec's head when he had left.

The word had spread quickly through the shadowhunter community. Maryse and Robert Lightwood's son was not physically fit to become a shadowhunter. A rare neurological disorder that caused painful headaches, dizziness and, in bad cases, fainting. The trigger was suspected to be a sudden change in the body, such as fight-or-flight-response and, unfortunately, marking a rune. There were other causes on the list Ragnor had given to the Lightwood family, but those two were enough. You couldn't go hunt demons if there was even a slight possibility of you fainting if you entered a fight or got scared. There would be no runes. "Oh, what a shame", people would whisper. "What a shame indeed. Well, luckily they still have the daughter. Hopefully, she's more useful than the first one." The young boy with black hair and bright blue eyes would stand in the shadows and listen to these whispers. Instead of crying or even running away, he stood there and listened. The boy wasn't discouraged from the talking. No, it made him more determined. So he wouldn't be able to use runes or could get light in the head if faced with danger. So what, Alec had thought back then. He wouldn't let those little things stop him. He _would_ become the best shadowhunter. You'll just wait!

  


* * *

  


The fireworks danced in front of his eyes as a celebration of Alec's victory.

This. This was what it meant to become the best shadowhunter, he supposed. That is if you just so happened to be Alec Lightwood, of course. Alec sighed as he started a new game of Solitaire for the tenth time during his monitoring duty. He hadn't checked the time for a while, but if previous patterns were to be believed, time wouldn't be more than five minutes later than the last time he checked. Time seems to move slower when you're bored. And boy, was Alec bored. Although he was already 19 - a legal adult, mind you - he was still basically trapped at the institute. People tend to come and go, but Alexander Lightwood stayed. "It's too dangerous and you know it", his mother had told him the previous time he had pleaded for a chance to go out by himself. Just he. No Izzy to drag him into all of the clothing shops in her immediate line of sight. No Jace, who really didn't want to waste his time as a baby sitter any more than Alec wanted to be followed wherever he went.

But as usual, his mother's argument made sense. The risk of Alec getting an episode was relatively higher in the outside world, where possible demons, unpredictable mundanes and downworlders ran free. But still. No matter how reasonable her points were, Alec didn't think any of this was fair.  
"No, it isn't supposed to be fair. It is supposed to keep you safe."  
That argument had happened a few years ago when Alec got just a tiny bit of teenage rebellion in his otherwise rule-following heart. That phase died as young as Alec's dreams of being useful. He checked the time. 17.57. Huh. He had managed to pass a respectable eleven minutes without checking the time. Alec almost felt proud of himself for that. But there wasn't time for such a thing. Not, when the arrival of his siblings marked the end of his shift as the guy who stares at the screens for six hours straight. Any second now...

When Isabelle and Jace had finally gotten the permission to go on patrols with the older shadowhunters, Alec had felt so proud of them. He still did, of course. There was nothing that would have made him a less of a proud big brother. But another feeling had started to grow in the back of his head. Alec would never call it self-pity, but he hated the idea of him being jealous of his siblings' freedom. Realistically there was no other way to describe the feeling of frustration, almost anger, that filled his head every time the two younger teens stepped out of the Institute. But Alec. Was. Not. Jealous. This all was for his own good. Someone had to watch the screens and inform the patrollers of possible demon activities. It was just as important as physically killing demons and physically being there risking one's life to keep the surrounding world safe. No, he had accepted his role and that was okay.

"Hi there, big bro! You could move six of spades over there and so gain the access to the ace of clubs", Isabelle's skill with walking and fighting in ridiculously high heels had always managed to impress her older brother. What left him less impressed was how loudly she let her heels hit the ground when she approached Alec. Her intention of letting him know of her arrival might be with well-meant, but Alec detested the idea of being coddled. Pushing the negative thoughts to the back of his head - right next to the constant annoying buzz that never seemed to stop - he turned to look at his sister.  
"If I did that, I would never be able to get the king of hearts from the middle of the stack", he gave his sister a small smile and simultaneously checked her over for any injuries. Everything seemed to be intact but based on the state of Izzy's hair, they had faced trouble at one point or another. Or alternatively, she had fallen from a tree. She looked just like their mother, long black hair, dark brown eyes and all. The critical difference between the two lied in their wardrobes. Alec couldn't even try to imagine his mother in the skintight dress that barely reached mid-thigh and knee-length boots with ten centimetres high heels. Alec often wondered if he should just be happy with his sister being comfortable with her appearance or be worried about how she usually decided to express this level of comfort. Maybe both.

"Excuses, excuses. You know I'm right. How was the shift? Anything interesting?" Alec shook his head. Interesting was rarely a fitting description for his shifts at monitoring duty.  
"Nothing special. I almost beat my high score at one point. How was the patrol?"  
"We finally found the demon that has been on a rampage around Central Park."  
"Hmm, that's good then. Where's Jace?"  
"He went to take a shower. He wasn't as lucky as I was with demon gunk."  
"I'm sure he'll survive."  
"By the way, he asked me to ask you to come train with him after we give our report to mom. He said something about getting rid of the extra energy." They walked slowly down the hallways of the Institute in comfortable silence. Isabelle was heading to her room and apparently, Alec was following her. When they reached her door, he quickly said he was going to go wait for Jace. He wasn't particularly interested in the finer details of his siblings' achievements.  
"Alec, wait. Show me your face real quick", Isabelle said suddenly. Confused, Alec obeyed. For a second his sister looked at him with a scrutinizing stare. "Huh. That's weird... I swear I saw glitter on your face for a second there. Well, I guess it's nothing. Go have a good spar with Jace"  
And with that she closed her door, leaving even more confused Alec stare at the space she had just occupied. After a while, he shook his head and turned away from the door. She's just tired after a long day, Alec thought to himself as he started to walk towards the practice range. If he made it there before Jace, he would have a moment to train his archery skills in peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, here was chapter one. I don't think I'll be writing here at the end so much in the future tbh...
> 
> I know there wasn't really any action, but this chapter exists solely as a base and for worldbuilding. I wanted to put this out here asap so people who find this fic would get a clearer picture of what kind of world we're dealing with and to give an idea of my writing style etc. Ï promise there will actually be something happening next time!!
> 
> But first, I gotta go and celebrate the 1st of May ^_^ I'll see if I get anything done during the weekend ;)


	3. I'm getting a headache from this bullshit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Alec made his way through the ops area, he didn't register much that was happening around him. His thoughts were still on the weird interaction he just had with his sister. When the murmurs around him finally registered, it was almost too late. When Alec raised his head, he found himself nearly face to face with a rather familiar sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coucou everyone! Hope you're doing fine and that you all had a great 1st of May if you happen to celebrate it!! Virtually, of course ;)
> 
> Dear ladies, gentlemen and variations thereupon, Ragnor Fell joins the battle! Our dear green cabbage is back from the flashback and now part of our current time. Oh yeah, spoiler warning :D
> 
> So my subconsciousness has decided that this fic should be read with the most ridiculous, over the top, stereotypical, and above all, fake RP English accent. I always read my texts aloud for one or two times before posting just to make sure I actually _read_ every. Single. Word. For some reason, I automatically start to read this with the formerly described accent. Good luck getting that out of your head!
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

Arrow

Draw

Aim

Release

Repeat

  


* * *

  


"Alec? Is that you?"  
"Izzy, shouldn't you be sleeping?"  
"Shouldn't _you_ be sleeping? It's almost one in the morning!"  
"Couldn't sleep."

At the age of nine, Isabelle could already tell that her big brother wasn't doing very well. Sweat had glued his black hair to his neck and when Alec finally turned to look at her, dark shadows surrounded his blue eyes. Behind him, she could see a target filled with arrows. He only had a few arrows left in his quiver. Before Isabelle managed to say anything, Alec had already turned his back on her again. He grabbed an arrow, placed it on the bow and pulled the string back. She had rarely watched her brother when he practised shooting. Either she had her practice at the same time or something better to do. She was quite sure one wasn't supposed visibly tremble while shooting. Only a small whistle preceded the quiet thud the arrow produced when it hit its mark. It wasn't a bullseye, but quite close. Alec's whole posture seemed to slump. Only three of maybe twenty arrows had hit the centre of the target. The eleven-year-old boy didn't reach for the next arrow. 

"Alec? Are you okay?"  
"I should have been able to make that shot."  
"It was super close, why are you sad? I could never be so accurate."  
"If I can't even hit my mark, how am I supposed to be useful? I need to be perfectly accurate. I'm not allowed to do mistakes! Don't you get it, Izzy?"  
"Alec please, you really should go to sleep. You look exhausted."  
"No, I have to... no, I must practise more! I have to get better!"  
"What on earth are you two doing here at this time of the night?" a new voice echoed in the practice range of the New York institute. Both children turned around to face the sour face of their mother. Before Izzy could try to defend herself, Alec let out a whimper and clutched his head, dropping his bow to the ground. Maryse's face lost some of its ire as she quickly strode towards her first son. As she tried to look at his face, Alec just tried to push his mother away. Maryse sighed.

"Isabelle, what happened?" she didn't sound angry anymore. Just tired.  
"I couldn't sleep, and I decided to walk around a bit so I'd be more tired. Then I noticed that the door to the practice range was open and I got curious and I found Alec. He was shooting. I told him that he was supposed to be sleeping, but he didn't listen to me. Then he got really mad when he didn't hit the bullseye, and then he started shouting at me, and then you came", Isabelle narrated worriedly. Then she whispered, "Is Alec going to be okay?"  
"I'm _fine_. See, it's already getting better. I'm going to bed", her brother almost growled and marched out of the room without looking back. The mother and daughter turned to look at each other.  
"Your brother is just having a bit of a hard time. It is difficult for him to not be able to become a shadowhunter. Don't worry too much, he just needs more time", her mom said as she bent down to give her a tight hug. "Now, why don't you follow your brother's example and go to bed too. We have to be ready to welcome Jonathan, remember? He'll arrive around noon."

  


* * *

  


When Alec made his way through the ops area, he didn't register much that was happening around him. His thoughts were still on the weird interaction he just had with his sister. When the murmurs around him finally registered, it was almost too late. When Alec raised his head, he found himself nearly face to face with a rather familiar sight. It had been a while since the two of them had met. Four years, if Alec remembered correctly. The man still looked the same - which wasn't a surprise, considering the man _was_ a warlock. What had changed was Alec himself. He didn't have to look up anymore to look Ragnor Fell in the eye. The warlock still walked around with all of his marks visible. What Alec had heard from others, that was special. Not that he had ever seen another downworlder. He remembered being scared of Ragnor's horns as a child, which was ridiculous in retrospect. This man had much more efficient ways of causing harm to a young child than poking him with his horns. He had grown his hair out, Alec noted.

"Alec, you have quite grown since our last meeting", Ragnor said as a greeting. Despite the obvious air of annoyance and worry that surrounded the green-skinned man, he smiled a little when he saw the boy whose growth he had witnessed.  
"And you, Ragnor, haven't changed at all", Alec responded with a mild smile of his own. The warlocks visits had been much more frequent when Alec was younger. He was nice to him and had occasionally brought him some English treats. Like that one time, when Alec had had an episode so bad that the warlock had to be summoned. He still grimaced every time he thought about that disaster. Isabelle had told Alec later that the warlock had stormed out of the institute after having an intense argument with their mother about one thing or another. Now that Alec thought about it, he hadn't seen the warlock ever since.  
"Well, I'm sure you're busy. I'm here to have a... discussion with your mother. Hopefully, we'll have a better chance to chatter after that, but now if you excuse me", Ragnor said and hurriedly stepped around Alec and started to walk towards Maryse's office with a quick pace. Alec looked after the man and frowned. Now one strange conversation was just what it said on the tin, but this? First, his sister started seeing things and now his childhood "doctor" - who had stormed out years ago - had out of the blue decided to pay his mother a visit. Something had to be going on. Alec was sure of it.

  


* * *

  


He hadn't heard the footsteps behind him.

Arrow, draw, aim, release, repeat.  
Arrow, draw, aim, release, repeat.  
Arrow, draw, ai-

A hand fell to Alec's shoulder, scaring the ever-living crap out of him. Something tugged at the back of his head, like a knee jerk reaction. Stabbing pain followed the -by now rather familiar - feeling and without much of a thought, Alec released his arrow. No scream of pain was heard, so luckily he hadn't hit anyone.  
"Shit man, I'm sorry!" Jace's voice came through the fog of pain that pulsed in Alec's head. "I thought you heard me."  
"Well, I didn't", Alec hissed as he rubbed his temples. One would think that after almost fifteen years of getting scared every once in a while, the almost inevitable pain would be easier to handle. But no. Alec would still lose all of his focus the instant the tugging started. Sometimes he would get lucky and only got a bit dizzy, but those lucky moments had started to be increasingly rare as he got older.  
"I'm guessing you won't be able to train with me today", Jace frowned. His blond hair was still wet from the shower and he had two sparring sticks in his left hand. Whilst his voice sounded sympathetic, revealed his golden eyes that he was mostly just annoyed or disappointed. Or maybe both.  
"Maybe not today, no. Sorry to blow you off like this", Alec sighed. His vision was a bit blurred around the edges, but his balance was still intact when he made his way to the target he had been filling with arrows a couple of minutes ago. 

"Wait, let me help. This was my fault after all", Jace called behind him and before Alec could even register what he had heard, another pair of arms had started to pull the arrows out of the well-abused piece of solid foam. The other teen wasn't nearly careful enough while handling the arrows and a couple of times it looked like the spine would snap in two. Even a mere thought of having to get a new batch of hybrid arrows - which by the way are not very cheap - made the pounding in Alec's head even worse. Finally, _finally_ , all the arrows were pulled out and neatly placed in Alec's quiver. He wished Jace a good night and left the training room while trying to assure himself that he wasn't running away from his siblings for the second time today. Alec had always had some troubles with spending time with Jace. He was everything Alec wasn't. Even with two years of an age difference, Jace still seemed to be capable to do everything Alec had to basically fight to succeed in. He liked Jace, he was one of his siblings, but sometimes he just couldn't stand to even look at the golden-haired boy with "oh so great skills as a fighter" and "such a promising start for his shadowhunter career". Maybe in another world, they would have been great friends. Maybe even best friends. But not now. Not here. Maybe Alec just did run away.

While walking towards his room, Alec had to stop in his tracks when he heard shouting coming behind the slightly open door on his left. Maryse's office, he realized. He should keep walking, but then he remembered just who was supposed to be having a meeting with his mother. Curiosity killed the cat. He tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as he moved to peek inside his mother's office. All he could see was the back of his mother.

"Maryse, please try to be reasonable", Ragnor's voice sounded tired.  
"Fell, I've said this before, but you will not take him from the institute. It's for his own good."  
"His own good? Do you even hear what you're saying? My people, _our people_ are going missing. Something or someone is deliberately going after warlocks! He needs to be protected by his people. Not held as a prisoner"  
"He is protected by his people. We are his people, Fell. Not you."  
"I am afraid to break it to you but he is not one of you as much as you hope he would be. You can't change the past, Maryse."  
"You don't understand anything. If warlocks are going missing, why would I let you take him? Why would I let you bring him out there, right into the danger."  
"He cannot keep living like this and you know it! He was supposed to learn the truth at least a year ago. No, years ago! But you decided to be selfish! He needs to come with me and learn to control himself. To protect himself. To be one of us, like he is meant to be!"  
"No. That's final. You should probably leave now, warlock."

Alec quickly pulled himself away from the door and turned to quickly jog away from the office. There was a warlock in the institute. A warlock who didn't know he was a warlock? How did that even work? Why would his mother be protecting a downworlder in the institute in the first place? Alec's head was spinning as he now almost ran down the corridors. He didn't know what to think. Did he know him? Was the warlock walking around the institute, posing as a shadowhunter or was he locked down in the cells as a prisoner? Didn't Ragnor say the warlock was held a prisoner? Alec had lived his whole life at the institute. How hadn't he realized that there was someone who didn't belong here? The buzzing in the back of his head seemed to get worse the more worked up he got. Alec had to get out. He needed fresh air and some time to think. Sneaking out wasn't something Alec did often. It was surprisingly easy, actually. You just walked out of the door. People might be always on the lookout for uninvited people trying to get in, but nobody seemed to care who walked out. Without bothering with getting his coat or anything, Alec silently walked around the ops-centre like there was nothing out of ordinary. He had his glamoured bow and quiver still thrown over his shoulder. It was already April, he would be fine. And without any hassle, Alec Lightwood stepped out of the New York institute into the late spring evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So fun fact. This chapter basically doubled the word count of the fic. I spent the whole day writing this and I am rather proud of myself. Now I need to go and write two essays with an actual deadline... Yes, I have my priorities in check.
> 
> Btw, we're getting close to giving Magnus his so well-deserved (screen?) time! I am mildly scared. I don't know if I'll be able to give him the coolness he deserves. Oh well, it's the future me's problem (I'm not gonna sleep this night).
> 
> Speaking of night, it's midnight, so imma go sleep now. See you in comments or the next chapter!!


	4. 'Cause for the first time in forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec was absolutely not brooding. He hadn't sneaked out of the institute, either. No, he was sorting his thoughts and he was doing that in Central Park. Without company nor permission. Okay, maybe he had sneaked out of the institute. But Alec wasn't brooding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah shit, here we go again. Did I just quote Frozen in the title? Yes. Am I proud of myself? Only a little.
> 
> Okay so, my hand slipped a bit ':D Sorry (not really). I don't know yet if I'm going to bring you-know-whos into the story or if I will write like a sequel or something that involves them and their canon story arch. Like, I haven't even decided who's gonna be the big bad evil guy/gal/pal of this story! At the same time, I kinda want it to be the Circle, but I'm just a dumb gay boy and I don't know how to design an evil plan of that scale. And let's not even think about the fact that I should come up with a way to defeat them too. So like, don't be surprised if the baddie turns out to be like a dog who is super cute, but is accidentally luring warlocks into an abandoned warlock prison or something :'D
> 
> Sorry friendos, no Magnus this time :( but soon, I think, soon!!
> 
> Enjoy!

Alec was absolutely not brooding. He hadn't sneaked out of the institute, either. No, he was sorting his thoughts and he was doing that in Central Park. Without company nor permission. Okay, maybe he had sneaked out of the institute. But Alec wasn't _brooding_. 

  


* * *

  


Early September's weather was warm enough for Alec to sit in the shadow of a three and not feel cold. Summer was almost over. Alec had always liked to witness the change of colours in nature. But it was too early for that. Central Park surrounding him was still the same vibrant green it had been throughout summer. Mundanes filled the paths and grass. Children laughed while playing. Every now and then a dog or two would sprint past Alec. Once one had been followed by a young distressed-looking man shouting "No! Bad boy, Jerry! Come back!". There were tourists taking selfies and, at one point, a group of girls giggling from glee when they caught Alec from staring at their direction. He quickly turned his head and wished he hadn't blushed.

Mundanes. They were like ants with their simple lives. They had no idea what kind of they were living in. How could one's life even be meaningful if it didn't involve protecting the innocent? What did they do to keep themselves going? It was possible, that Alec would soon find out. He was turning 18 in a week. He was becoming an adult. Adult shadowhunters were expected to declare their allegiance to the Clave. They would become full members of the Clave, would be able to contribute to the important matters. Adult shadowhunters were expected to do one's bit and be a useful part of society. There would be no freeloaders. No deadweight. If Alec were to declare his allegiance, he would be required to figure out a way to contribute more. The other option was to be... well, stripped of his runes. That in itself wouldn't change Alec's life much. But still, he would be thrown out.

He would become one of the ants that buzzed in the streets of New York. 

Maryse was convinced that the Clave would accept Alec's declaration. She was biased. Of course she didn't want to believe that her son wouldn't be accepted as a part of their society. No mother would want to believe that. But Alec could very well see it happening. Why would Clave let him stay? He wasn't particularly useful. Sure he could shoot with a bow and arrow much better than most, but that wouldn't be nearly enough.  
"You could maybe become a teacher", Izzy had suggested when Alec had told his sister about his worries. She obviously didn't understand.  
"You know, not all shadowhunters are on active hunting duty twenty-four seven. There are other things to do", Jace had sighed when he had realized the reason for Alec's growing sour mood. "Now quit moaning and come train with me, you need other things to think about."  
"Hey man! Sorry to bother you!" no one Alec knew said from his right.

The boy was maybe around the same age as Isabelle and Jace. He had dishevelled dark brown hair and brown eyes framed by black glasses. He wore a flannel over a t-shirt that said: "Roll for initiative". He held a sheet of paper in his hands.  
"Uh so, my friend over there was doodling and ended up drawing you. I said to her that she should at least show it to you but she claimed it wasn't good enough, but I think it's super good and it deserved to be shown, so I took it from her and so here I am showing it to you and damn, I'm rambling, aren't I", the kid said all in one breath. "So anyway, here's the drawing!"  
The stranger shoved the paper in his hands towards Alec. He looked at the pencil drawing in front of him. His eyebrows rose in surprise. The boy had been correct to call it super good.  
"You like it?" the boy said when he started to get a bit uncomfortable with the silence.  
"Yeah, it's really good. Tell your friend that she is really skilled", Alec said and rubbed his neck. It wasn't often that he had any social interaction with anyone outside of his family. He wasn't exactly popular back at the institute.

"Are you ok, man? You look kinda lonely?" the boy frowned a little. Alec didn't know how to respond to that. Was he lonely? When the silence started to stretch a bit too much again, Alec ended up just shrugging halfheartedly.  
"You know what! You can come and hang with us if you want! It's boring to be alone! Unless you do want to be alone, I guess. Uh, just consider yourself welcome to join us. No pressure or anything!" the boy blushed a bit and turned his back to Alec and started to walk towards the redheaded girl he had said had drawn the picture. The picture which was still in Alec's hands. He knew that having connections to the mundane world was not recommended. But there was a big chance that Alec would be a part of that world by this time next week. Shouldn't he maybe check out a little bit what he had waiting for him? Before he could convince himself otherwise, Alec stood up from the ground and walked to the two mundanes.  
"Hi", Alec started and hoped that he didn't sound too awkward. He held the drawing towards the girl. "Your friend said you drew this. It's really good."  
"Oh thank you! I don't know if Simon introduced us yet. I'm Clary and this is, well, Simon."  
"Simon said it'd be cool if I sat with you for a second. I just moved here and don't know many people yet. I'm Alec."

  


* * *

  


The fresh air didn't help as much as Alec had hoped. Sure, the gentle spring breeze helped his head to finally stop hurting so much, but his thoughts hadn't gone anywhere. There was a warlock. A warlock! There was a warlock, who was in the institute and it seemed that nobody knew about it. Surely not Alec. He walked quickly in the sea of mundanes. Despite all the worries of his family, Alec truly enjoyed his time in the outside world. Here nobody approached him stomping their feet and trying to inconspicuously make their presence as obvious as possible. He was just as invisible as everyone else on that busy pedestrian zone. Alec knew where he was headed, without giving it much of a thought. His mind was occupied by much more pressing issues. He was going through a list of each and every single shadowhunter who lived at the institute. New and old. Not a single person he could think of could possibly be something else. Sure, Matthias Mapleheart was a bit odd, but that didn't make him a warlock. Alec took the final right turn and could already see the trees of Central Park just two blocks ahead of him. Besides, Mapleheart couldn't be a warlock. That man was covered with runes from head to toe. Could those even be glamoured on a person? No. A warlock pretending a shadowhunter would be someone without... 

Runes. A shadowhunter without-

Before Alec could properly process that thought, a loud bang made him lost his focus. Alec looked around, trying to find its source. At first, he was going to shrug it off. Weird noises were normal, this was New York after all. Then a shadow in the corner of his eye made Alec stop. He was standing in front of a small alleyway. Despite there still being at least an hour of daylight left for the day, the alleyway was suspiciously dark. And there Alec saw it. He had never seen a live demon before. Only drawings and later, his siblings' stories had given an idea of what he should expect. Nothing could have prepared Alec for the real thing. It was just as tall as he, twice as wide and so very, very ugly. The demon looked like it was made out of expired pieces of meat, only held together by a rare bone and a lot of stitching. It had turned its back towards Alec and it seemed to be trying to attack something in front of it.  
"We finally found the demon that has been on a rampage around Central Park", Alec's head reminded him of his sister's words from earlier that day. They had _found_ it. Isabelle hadn't said anything about destroying it. A quiet scream coming from deeper in the alley made Alec finally move.

"Hey! Over here!" Alec shouted as he grabbed his bow and knocked an arrow on the string in one quick move. Thank the angels he had the weapon with him. When the demon turned to look at the intruder, Alec could finally see its victim. Or what was visible of them. There was a small figure standing in a defensive posture. The demon growled, bringing Alec's focus back to it. It was struggling with trying to decide which one to attack. Before it got a chance to decide, Alec released the arrow. It sunk deep into the demon's gut. That made the creature growl loudly. Alec put a new arrow on the bow. As he was preparing to draw his arm back, the demon started to move towards him. Quickly. There wasn't much time to aim. Only by muscle memory and sheer luck, the next arrow found its way to the demon's chest. But that didn't slow its movement much. As it got closer and closer Alec tried to desperately draw a new arrow, but the familiar buzzing was once again starting to tug at the back of his head. He was starting to lose focus. This would most likely be his end.

"Over here, dickhead!" a high voice called from behind of the demon. When the monstrous creature turned around something that looked - and sounded - a lot like a brick hit it square in the face.  
"Shoot it in the neck! It is the weak spot!" the same voice shouted as the demon now headed towards its original target. At first, Alec didn't understand the command. His thoughts were fuzzy at best and his limbs felt like jelly. But then it registered. Neck. Weak spot. Got it. With sluggish movements, Alec reached for one more arrow to place on the sting of the bow. Focus. Focus, focus, focus. He had to _focus_. His head pulsed furiously as he drew his arm back and tried his best to align his shot. The demon's dark colour palette didn't help at all.  
"What's taking so long? Shoot!" came the voice again. Oh yeah, right. Alec was on a time limit. With the final deep breath, he released the arrow. The demon collapsed to the ground screaming and the pain in Alec's head doubled. He wanted to scream too. But he forced himself to keep it all together. He had to be ready in case the creature would get up again. 

With wobbling steps, Alec started to approach the writhing body. The other person was already crouched beside it. Now that Alec could see them closer he could make out their long, unnaturally blond hair, pale skin and the weird cloak-like clothing thrown over their shoulders. What their face looked like, Alec didn't know.  
"You have good arrows", they stated as they poked the place where the arrow had gone through the demon's skin. "This bastard will be dead any moment now. You are a good shot."  
Alec frowned a little when he tried to understand what the other was saying. He could hear his own pulse in his ears and everything felt distant and blurry. The other person had a strong blocky accent and the way they always put the pressure on the first syllable of the word made each new word feel like a hit to the head. Without warning, they grabbed the arrow and pulled it out of the demon just to stab it again. This time the demon burst into dust. Alec wasn't sure anymore if his feet were able to keep him standing.  
"Y- you know", he mumbled weakly as he tried to take support from the wall on his right. The ground seemed to get weirdly close. "You know. That, that was th- the first demon I ever kil-", Alec's body hit the ground. The last thing he thought he heard was something the stranger said. It sounded like "bear dealer". Or was maybe in a foreign language. Alec wasn't sure.

Everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was this chapter a bit of a filler? Yes. 
> 
> Was it written just so that I wouldn't have to do my social and economical studies' homework? Absolutely.
> 
> Am I now in deep shit? Oh boy, you wouldn't even believe!
> 
> Was it worth it? Idk, you tell me, man.
> 
> So Clary and Simon are now apparently part of the fic. As I said, don't know yet if they'll play a bigger role or if they will be appearing only in a flashback or two. If nothing else, I promise I'll continue the Park flashback in a later chapter! I have some "funny" ideas for it...
> 
> Now speculation time, my friends! Who is our mysterious person and what do they have to do with anything? You'll find out in the next chapter! (which will probs take a bit longer as I seriously have to start to work a bit for school...)
> 
> See you!


	5. The quotes are getting a tad too real

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Ugh, I didn't think this would come up, but I think I need to give TW for a maybe panic attack. I will mark the worst (?) of it with ** at the beginning and the end, just to be safe. The content of that part should be obvious when you read that far...**
> 
> Hey yo, finally bringing the future love interest to the story check! Tbh, I don't think I was able to make Magnus as good as he's supposed to be but I don't know what else to do so this has to do...
> 
> So the warlock culture is not nearly explored enough if you ask me. Like okay, they don't live in groups like vampires and werewolves nor do they have their own realm like faeries. They do have the Spiral labyrinth and Spiral Council but those aren't very well-known (I mostly have been deep diving into the wiki, it's been a while since I read the books and the show gives me a headache every second episode, so I only speak Malec from that thing). So, I'm making up my own warlock culture and customs etc. that I think would make sense. 
> 
> Also, I'm convinced that warlocks are like the most international beings in the Shadow World along with shadowhunters. So, I decided that each time I have to have a minor warlock side character, they'll have the nationality of one of my friends I met during my exchange year. Change my mind. So I guess this chapter is for my girl Ilona from Finland! Thanks with the tips you gave me <3<3
> 
> This chapter has been written under the careful watch of my cat, who is starting to get jealous of my laptop. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The first thing Alec saw when he opened his eyes was a pair of brown eyes.  
"The sleeping beauty wakes at last."

Alec jumped into a sitting position. It was close he didn't hit his head into the nose of the stranger hovering over him. Before the shadowhunter could start spinning his head in an attempt to figure to where he was, a firm hand pressed into his chest and pushed Alec back on his back. He was laying on a couch. The hand belonged to a man, maybe in his early twenties. He had spiky black hair with an undercut, and his dark eyeliner reminded Alec little bit of a racoon. Based on his slated eyes and golden skin, Alec guessed the man was at least partially Asian. He's handsome, Alec's mind informed him without a prompt and that thought made Alec avert his gaze away from him. Instead, he looked around, trying to figure out where he was.

The room looked like a living room. He was laying on a black leather sofa. Behind the man, he could see two armchairs. The walls were made of bricks and Alec saw multiple artefacts and decorations that looked ancient. He turned his head to the other side and tried to peer over the back of the couch. Alec almost got his maybe third heart attack of the day - was it even the same day anymore - when he saw another pair of eyes staring at him. The pale skin and almost white hair made Alec think of the person on the alleyway.  
"Where am I?" it was the logical thing to ask. Alec was surprised by how good he felt. Usually passing out left him sore head for a few days. How long was he out?  
"Brooklyn. Suvi here brought you in when you passed out on the street after helping her defeat a demon", the man spoke again. He frowned a little, before smoothing his face to a slightly amused expression he had worn since Alec had woken up.  
"Oh. Thank you then."  
"No, thank you. I am more skilled with nature than battle. You helped me, so I helped you", she still spoke with the accent Alec couldn't locate.

"So tell me, for I am terribly curious, who are you exactly and how I don't know you", the man waved his hand a little and one of the armchairs behind him dragged itself closer to him. As he sat down, a snap of his fingers created a glass half-filled with golden liquid into his hand. This man was a warlock.  
"I uh, I'm Alec. New York is a big city, I am not surprised we haven't met", Alec hadn't met much anyone. Why should have he met this man?  
"Alec... short from Alexander?" Alec nodded. "Now tell me, Alexander, didn't your mother teach you any manners? As a warlock, it is quite polite if you would bother to come and at the very least introduce yourself to the local High Warlock, no matter how locked and hidden your magic might be. Especially with a face like that."  
The warlock winked cheesily and Alec blushed a little. Then the words hit him.  
"Excuse me. As a _what_?"  
"What do you mean 'as a what'? What do you want me to say? You're a warlock, Alec?"

No. No. Nonono. The warlock must have made a mistake. He wasn't- He couldn't be. It was not possible. He had his parents. A mother. A father. Maryse Lightwood was his mother. Robert Lightwood was his father. There was no way that. It couldn't be possible. It was not possible. Alec was a shadowhunter. He's a shadowhunter. A shadowhunter. I am a shadowhunter.  
"A shadowhunter?" a curious voice made Alec's head spin just a tiny bit slower. The man's left eyebrow had arched higher than the other. "You think you are a shadowhunter? A child of the Nephilim?"  
"I do not think I am a shadowhunter. I _am_ a shadowhunter!" Alec's breath hitched. There had to be a mistake. What he said next was just as much for himself as it was for the warlock. "I am the first son of Maryse and Robert Lightwood. My parents are shadowhunters. I live a the New York institute. I. Am. A shadowhunter just like the rest of my family"  
"You do not feel like a shadowhunter. You have a lot of magic inside of you. I can feel it", Suvi decided to join the trainwreck this, fairly odd to begin with, conversation had turned out to be. It was only now that Alec noticed some of the weird things in her appearance. She had red eyes. Albino, Alec guess. What he couldn't immediately explain were the antlers. They were only ten centimetres long, branched in half at the end and they looked like they were covered in a thin layer of fluff. She too was a warlock.

"Lightwood?" asked the man, now visibly confused. "I had gotten the impression their son was merely a child. They do have a daughter though, I think I might have seen her once or twice during my visits at the institute."  
Alec felt betrayed. Had he been hidden from outsiders? How was it possible that a warlock had been at the institute, met not only his parents but his sister too and not even know he existed? How didn't he ever know there had been a warlock other than Ragnor at the Institute? Wait a minute...  
"You have been to the institute? Who are you exactly?"  
"I didn't introduce myself? Oh dear, where are my manners? The name's Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn. And this is Suvi Kuu, one of the High Warlocks of Finland. Finland Proper to be exact. She's here to help me with a client."  
"Do not flatter me. I am just the oldest, I do not need your big titles", Suvi waved her hand a little and without any further comment, just left the room.  
"So modest, those Nordics", Magnus sighed a little, then turning his full attention back to Alec. 

"Anyway, as I was saying. I am the High Warlock of Brooklyn and that means that when the New York institute needs a little magical aid to their _oh so great and noble battle against the forces of evil_ I tend to be the one they call first", he sounded mocking. Alec was going to start defending his people when he remembered the way the others had talked about Downworlders. Maybe he should let it slide.  
"How come I have never seen you if I have lived my whole life at the institute?"  
"That is a good question. What _I_ am curious about is why there is a warlock masked as a shadowhunter living at the institute."  
"I told you, I am a shadowhunter."  
"And I told you, you are no-" Magnus was interrupted midsentence by a fire message. His drink almost spilt when he reached to catch the message. He lifted one of his fingers as to say 'wait for a second'. He wore a lot of rings, Alec noted, mildly curious. Magnus' nails were painted black with golden glitter shimmering on top of the dark colour. Long, slender fingers. Magnus coughed to get Alec's attention back to his face.  
"Do you happen to be - and I quote - 'the brooding-looking young bloke with black hair, blue eyes - my personal favourite, actually - and a seemingly off magical aura' that my dear friend Ragnor Fell seems to have lost?" Magnus raised his gaze from the note. Ragnor. The memory of his and Maryse's argument reminded Alec of its existence. The whole reason Alec had ended up here in the first place. "I am afraid to break it to you but he is not one of you as much as you hope he would be", Ragnor's words echoed in his head. There was a warlock at the institute. And that warlock was Alexander Lightwood. 

**  
The realisation hit him hard and Alec felt like he couldn't breathe. Was anything about his life true? Was he even a Lightwood? Maryse had known. Did everybody else know too? Had everyone known from the start that he had been someone else? No. Something else. All the years he had spent, trying to practise, trying to be as good as possible and even better. And everything had been a lie? He was a warlock. Half demon. A Downworlder. All the promises of the future as a useful part of the Clave. He had been let to declare his allegiance to the Clave. Did the Clave know? No. They couldn't, they would never have let a Downworlder live the life of a shadowhunter. He would never live the life of a shadow-  
"Alexander! Breathe", someone was almost shouting somewhere near him. He had shut his eyes at some point. His lids felt like lead. Slowly the picture of a worried-looking Magnus again hovering over him filled his vision. The warlock was shaking him. Or was he shaking himself? Fear, betrayal and confusion still ran wild in his head but seeing Magnus seemed to quiet things down a little. He was still hyperventilating.  
"Breath, Alexander", Magnus soothed. "Can you match your breathing to mine?"  
He took a deep breath and Alec tried to copy the warlock, but his breaths were too shallow. But Magnus didn't stop even when Alec was struggling with keeping up. Between breaths, the man murmured quiet reassurances.  
"You're doing great Alec, just try to focus on breathing, okay."  
**

After a while, Alec could feel himself start to calm down a little. His head was still buzzing with the realization and everything felt unreal. But the initial panic was starting to lose its control over Alec's body. He had never before experienced a panic attack.  
"Alexander?" Magnus sounded gentle and he was frowning from worry.  
"I'm okay, I think. Thank you, Magnus", Alec answered quietly.  
"Of course. Is there anything you need?" he was surprised by how kind Magnus was to him. After giving it a brief thought, Alec nodded.  
"Could you tell Ragnor I'm here?" Magnus only nodded. In a small flash of blue, there was a piece paper and a pen on Magnus' hands and he started immediately scribble a message. Waiting for him to be ready, Alec closed his eyes. He couldn't help himself as he found himself thinking back to his life. All the times he had been excluded from the normal shadowhunter's life. All the times he had been picked on, looked down at and been pitied. Was his illness also connected to him being... a warlock? A whooshing sound made Alec open his eyes again. 

There was a portal in the middle of the room. And from that portal stepped Ragnor. He looked dishevelled and his dark eyes were filled with worry.  
"Alec! What on earth are you doing out of the institute by yourself?" the green man sounded more relieved than angry as he rushed through the room to stand next to the couch. Only then he seemed to notice Magnus.  
"Is he okay?" now Ragnor truly was worried.  
"I'm not hurt", Alec answered.  
"You were brought here unconscious!" Magnus protested.  
"It happens sometimes. I have a neurological disorder. Or so I thought", Alec turned to glare at the warlock he was more familiar with. Ragnor seemed to deflate a little.

"So I am guessing you wound out then", he sighed.  
"Why didn't you tell me" Alec demanded at the same time as Magnus gasped: "Did you have something to do with all this without telling me?"  
"Alec, I think it would be best if you walked with me back to the institute. Magnus, thank you for finding Alec, consider me owning you one", Ragnor turned his back to the men by the couch. Alec knew this could be the only chance he got to talk to the warlock. Who knew if he would ever return now that all was out. So he scrambled to his feet, almost knocking Magnus to the ground while at it.  
"Uh, sorry. I... Thank you, Magnus. Really, thank you", he said hurriedly and strode through the room to catch up with Ragnor.  
"Ragnor, do me a favour and I'll consider us even", Magnus called from behind the two, seemingly now back from the confusion to being his old self again.  
"What is it, Magnus? I will not help you to get to Peru, you know that right", Ragnor glanced over his shoulder and Alec thought he could see a small smile on his lips.  
"No, I wouldn't ask that of you. At least not this time. No, what I want you to do is give Alexander over there my phone number", Magnus smirked a waved his hand as a goodbye. Ragnor only snorted a little and continued his way towards the door. Alec could feel his cheeks redden a little and he couldn't resist the urge to peek over his shoulder as he was leaving. Magnus winked. He stepped out of the front door.

As quickly as the man had appeared into his life, he was gone just as quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't wear my glasses very often while writing this. I hope it doesn't show.
> 
> So, how did you like my version of over 2000 words of mostly dialogue and not even any flashbacks to bring some length? I honestly didn't think I had it in me. So hey, the secret is out! Yay! Next time we might actually hear about the ordeal from another perspective or something, idk...
> 
> I had a lot of mental work to do while deciding on how Magnus looked. At the same time, I love the way he's portrayed by Harry Shum Jr., but then again, I wanted to keep on the theme of mixing books and TV. So I've made a lot of compromises. Book Magnus is said to have stopped ageing around the age of 19. Shum turned 38 last week (I'm always surprised when I find out the age of actors of most of my favourite characters. They never seem to be what I expected o.o). So surely you understand my struggle. But the hardest decision I've made in my entire life was this:
> 
> Which one is taller? Alec or Magnus? In books, it's Magnus, on TV it's Alec. They most certainly are not allowed to be the same height. My short ass just won't allow it. So I didn't make the decision yet. I have time, right?


	6. Tea.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scones were a new experience for Alec. One more thing to add to the list, he reckoned. Creamy baked goods weren't so popular at the institute. But the wonders of pastries were not the reason for why Alec was occupying the corner table of this small teashop.  
> "So, I'm guessing that you have several questions for me," Ragnor said after taking a long sip from his teacup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sips tea dramatically* 
> 
> So. The time has arrived. Now, my dear friends, is time to spill some tea. 
> 
> So as you all have probably noticed, I write quite long notes... I am a chatty person. I like to speak. The problem is that I rarely like people. I am a mild paradox. An introvert with a fuckton to say. Nothing important, mind you. Just... stuff, you know. So I am chattering my chatters here. You chose to read this. You're effectively wasting your time atm :D If I were a character from this universe, I'd be Simon but actually truly useless. No surprising archery skills or anything. Just a motormouth mundane. With my luck, I'd just get killed :))
> 
> I don't know if you noticed or not, but this is my first fanfic. Period. I haven't even written down a headcanon. Nothing. 0/10. Nada. Rien. I have written oc stuff, but those aren't in English, nor do they use someone else's characters, ideas etc. The other work in my works is a roughly translated version of one of my stories that I started to write a while ago and then just threw into google translate so that one of my friends could read it. That reminds me, I should probs continue that too someday...
> 
> This chapter has been written under the watchful eyes of both of my cats, who are getting too used to me being always at home nowadays. I also remembered to wear glasses this time around :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Alec didn't recognize the area. That wasn't particularly surprising. His usual territory was the ten-minute walk to Central Park and occasionally the few malls that were sprinkled on his usual path. Those were more Izzy's places than his. She just decided at times that Alec needed new clothes or she needed an outsider's opinion. But then again, he wasn't in Manhattan anymore. This must be the first time Alec had exited the Manhattan island and hadn't gone to Idris. That was a rather jarring thought to have. Alec had lived almost two decades by now. Young shadowhunters would normally travel around the world during their training. But Alec wasn't your normal young shadowhunter, now was he. No, he was not. 

Despite what his request to walk to the institute had been implying, Ragnor hadn't started a conversation yet. Alec had been following the man for maybe five minutes and not a single word had come out of the green man. It was already dark. Noticing that had made Alec wonder just how long had he been passed out on Magnus' couch. He had left the institute around 7 pm. It could as well be midnight. Without a warning, the warlock in front of him stopped on his tracks.  
"It seems they are still open."  
When Alec followed his gaze, Ragnor was looking at a small teashop across the street. And just like the man had said, the place seemed to be open.

"Alright, it might be for the best if we discussed a little before you return to the institute. Come on then, the bill is on me," by a snap of his fingers Ragnor had changed the colours of the traffic lights from green to red. That was a useful trick, Alec thought as he returned to follow the warlock. The sign on the teashop's door told Alec that it would close at midnight. So maybe it wasn't so late after all. To Alec's surprise, the woman behind the counter regarded Ragnor with a confused look.  
"A costume party, I'm guessing," she smiled politely when the two men made their way to the cashier. Ragnor smiled, which in Alec's experience was rare. It made sense. He couldn't truly only be the always grumpy and more often than not frowning warlock Alec had learned to know. They hadn't met outside of the shadowhunters' world.

"All-natural, if I were to attend a costume party, would my outfit be a tad more... magical. Now, Alec, what would you like?" Alec's eyebrows were just as high as the cashier's. Had Ragnor just walked into a mundane teashop, all of his warlock marks on full display? The cashier's thoughts were more along the lines of "Why did I ever decide to live in New York?" Alec glanced through the list on the wall and felt quite out of place.  
"Uh, I'll just take whatever you'll have," he said in the end. How was he supposed to know if he wanted to have a classic tea with scones or an ice-tea? What did that even mean? Wasn't the whole point of tea the fact that it was hot?  
"Well, in that case, two cream teas, please," Ragnor ordered and turned to look at Alec. "It is usually for afternoons, but I think you need some sugar in you. When did you last have anything to eat?" That was a surprisingly thoughtful question for Ragnor to ask. And a good one too. Alec hadn't even thought about eating, but now that it had been brought up, he noticed how hungry he was. His last meal had been lunch. When he heard that, Ragnor quickly asked for a third plate of scones.

Scones were a new experience for Alec. One more thing to add to the list, he reckoned. Creamy baked goods weren't so popular at the institute. But the wonders of pastries were not the reason for why Alec was occupying the corner table of this small teashop.  
"So, I'm guessing that you have several questions for me," Ragnor said after taking a long sip from his teacup. He didn't look any more comfortable than Alec felt.  
"Mm yes. Is it... did you- uh, was it?" now that time had come, Alec didn't have the slightest idea how to ask the burning question in his mind. But stammering wouldn't get him anywhere. Alec closed his mouth for a second and took a deep breath. "Was Magnus right?"  
"Well, that depends purely on what he said. On a general assumption, I would say he is often correct. He is the High Warlock and lived many, many years. As his friend, I would beg to differ a little. You see he has-"  
"Was he right when he said that I'm a warlock?" There. Now he had said it. It was out. Simple as that. And just as simply Ragnor replied.  
"Yes. Yes, he was right."  
"I think you have some explaining to do."  
"Yes. I sure do."

"There are some things even I don't know, Alec. You should have this discussion with your mother too. But I have indeed played quite a significant role in this whole ordeal. It hasn't been executed the way I would have preferred, but you have to keep in mind the fact that this all has been done with your security as the primal objective. I don't know what happened to Maryse. She never told me what caused you to be a part of this world, but I am certain that she is your mother. There isn't any other reason for the lengths she has gone to ensure your safety. Oh shut up, will you, I'm getting to the point, alright! By the time I met you for the first time, you had recently turned five years old. You had without a warning developed your warlock marks. Usually, when we are born, the marks already exist, causing numerous mothers to kill, abandon or fear the baby they have given birth. I am not entirely sure, but I suspect that the Nephilim side of you slowed things down noticeably. Technically you shouldn't be able to exist at all. Something like this has only happened once before, to my knowledge at least, and under very different circumstances. I'll make sure you two meet each other someday. Anyway, when your marks appeared and confirmed your demon side, your mother decided to come to me. She didn't want to turn you in for the Clave, nor did she want to end your still so young life. 

"You two arrived at my door one night and she begged me to hide your warlock-ness from the shadowhunters. I'm guessing that your marks had just appeared. When I realized what must have happened, I invited you in to discuss. It was quite similar to this evening, I think. We had tea back then too. If my memory serves me right, that was your first time drinking tea. Of course, you don't remember that night. We had to make sure you wouldn't tell a single soul about our little meeting. Oh, don't look so scandalized! I have your memories, intact of course, back at my house. Unlike some warlocks, I tend to keep the memories I take safe, instead of feeding them to demons or doing some equally dramatic gestures. Now, don't worry about that, we'll get that fixed at some point, I have a couple of other meetings along with the first one. Shut up now, or I won't tell you anything more. Thank you.

"Initially, I had offered to take you under my wing as quickly as possible. You were still young and if just given a chance, you'd get into the warlock lifestyle perfectly well. You'd get the best possible support, I told your mother. Now in hindsight, I think I hit a nerve back then. Maryse, she was convinced that you'd be better with your family. At least for a little longer. 'He's still just a child. He deserves to grow up surrounded by family,' she argued. While I didn't wholeheartedly agree with her, I could understand her point of view. And in the end, we made an agreement. I would hide all the things about you that made you look like a warlock. I would hide them and you would get to spend a little longer with your family. You were too young to use glamour, so I did it for you. Your magic was a more complicated thing to hide. Locking someone's magic is difficult to do and uncomfortable for the subject. This I also informed Maryse about, but she stood her ground. And so I performed the ritual that would lock the magic in your blood, making you appear to be just a shadowhunter. What I - nor no one before me - couldn't do was to make you ever be able to bear any runes. There is too much demon in your heritage for that, I'm afraid. And that made up the last part of our agreement. Instead of getting your first rune and commencing your training to become a shadowhunter, you were to join me and start to learn to be one of us. The deadline was when you turned ten.

"As you probably can deduct from our current situation, Maryse didn't hold on to her end of the agreement. I visited you regularly to ensure my glamour would hold. When the time eventually came, she wasn't ready to let you go yet. It was too soon, you were too young, your younger brother had only just born and you deserved a possibility to get to know him. I tried to tell her that living with me for a while wouldn't mean that you couldn't stay in contact. Quite the opposite. As long as your family was supportive, I would have made sure you kept contact. I am not any kind of monster, despite what many shadowhunters keep telling themselves. And in the end, I agreed to give you two extra years. I was worried about your health, but I guessed that you had been strong until that point, you could handle yourself for a little longer. When you were twelve, your mother had a new argument. That Wayland's boy. She informed me that the kid they had taken under their protection didn't deserve to lose a family member once again. At least not so soon after his father's passing. I was getting a bit unease from all the time you'd still have to spend under the magic-locking spell. But I couldn't just steal you now could I? I agreed for a little more time.

"After that, every time I came to visit, I asked Maryse to let you come with me. You were starting to get older. But as time went by, she got more and more reluctant. I guess from her point of view, the Shadow World was getting increasingly more restless. You couldn't be any safer. The best possible place for you was under the protection of the shadowhunters. As if keeping you surrounded by people who would turn on you the instant they'd learn what you were. You deserve to be surrounded by your people, that's what I said. Kept saying. Am still saying. But there was nothing I could do but try to convince your mother. Now I have lived a long time and I have met countless parents. I see her struggle. I understand her pain, but this was starting to get out of hand. And then came that time when you were fifteen and you and Jace had that... accident.

"When I received the fire message I feared it was too late. I should have fought back more when trying to get Maryse to let you come with me. You don't even realize how lucky you were that night. Fooling around like that could have turned outright lethal and fast. To me, that was the final straw. I thought that this would convince your mother too. This was proof of the fact that you living surrounded by shadowhunters was a terrible idea. She saw it as the opposite. If this could have happened while you were there, what could happen to you out here? I am sure you understand me when I say I lost the last of my patience at that claim. I don't think either of us is very proud of that moment. We clashed and badly. It is a miracle that the whole of New York didn't hear us. I walked away. A feat I am by no means proud, but I couldn't stay either. You would recover as best as you could under the spell. 

"I promised to return to you when you were of full age. Then no one would be able to stop me but you. It wasn't my best decision. Not many decisions revolving around you were. Downworlders have started to disappear. That made me return today. You need to start learning now. The risk of you being found out or you getting into trouble is too high. You need to know how to use all that power hiding inside you, Alec. Learn to control it and learn to use it. The time has come so many times already. Now it's time for you to decide for yourself. Again, I will not force you, this all is fully up for you to decide, but now you know my opinion. Consider things carefully and choose wisely, Alec. Oh, bugger... the tea has gone cold."

Ragnor snapped his fingers to warm the drink in his mug back to softly steaming temperature. The unexpected noise brought Alec back to reality, for he had fallen into a deeply focussed state while listening to the warlock. Knowing the whole story made him feel weird. He was close to furious for what had been done to him. But even still, Alec only had to remember the desperation in his mother's voice from earlier this day and he could somewhat understand her. And then he couldn't again. There was a whole part of him, locked and hidden away without he never even being aware of any of it. That knowledge had been taken from him and kept away by the decision of Maryse. To _protect_ him. From what, exactly? His people or his "people"? Who even were they anymore? Ragnor was right. He couldn't stay. Sooner or later he would be too different to pass as a shadowhunter. He would stop ageing at one point. He still couldn't participate in the basic shadowhunter lifestyle. That reminded him.

"Is my headaches part of the spell?"  
"Yes. When a warlock gets scared, enters the fight-or-flight state or otherwise experiences something more extreme, we tend to instinctively reach out for our magic. It is not unlike the knee-jerk reflex. So obviously this trend affects you too. But even though your magic is in there, it exists still in you, it is unreachable. Your body tries to access it, tries to use it, but it cannot. That fight inside of you has been causing all those symptoms of your 'disorder'. Those shouldn't be bothering you once we open the gates and let the magic flow freely once again. If you want, of course."  
"I do. I want to come with you and learn. I-I just have to return to the institute for a second before that."  
"Of course, I would have asked you to do that whether you wanted to or not. You need to talk with your mother." Alec only nodded stiffly. It wasn't a conversation he was dying to have. 

"Well then, we should go as soon as possible before it gets too late. Come on. I'll make us a portal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there it was. Most of the backstory in one sitting. I know I promised some communication between Maryse and Alec, but that has to wait for a little longer.
> 
> I was initially planning to do this for mothers' day and include the conversation between Maryse and Alec, but then I ended up spending my time smuggling flowers into my mum's and my flat, then trying my best hiding them and later found myself drinking coffee with family during Sunday. But hey! I read City of Bones! I now might have a vague idea of where this is all going... maybe.
> 
> Maryse is starting to seem worse and worse the more I write about her, which was not my intention. I hope I can clear that up in the next chapter, or in a later one. I am all in for good mother-child relationships, as the only child of a single mother and all. Shit, am I the Maryse of the story? Trying to convince that she isn't that bad? Damn...
> 
> My final exams for this year are starting next week. As a professional procrastinator, I have a feeling I'll be writing a lot again soon. I have an exam in health education tomorrow... didn't study, won't study, probs will just get the answers online. It is what it is.
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!


	7. Tea pt.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec's steps were determined when he walked through the portal into the graveyard surrounding the New York institute. He heard the footsteps of Ragnor from behind. Alec almost didn't bother to wait for the warlock. The wait wasn't long, Ragnor was by his side as soon as the portal had been closed. No words were said as the pair continued their way towards the big main doors. Behind them was Isabelle. So Alec's disappearance had been discovered. But then again, he mused, Ragnor had been asking about his whereabouts from Magnus, hadn't he? Had he been the one to notice Alec's absence or had he just been conveniently there, was the question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellou!
> 
> So I watched Cats (1998) this weekend. And let me tell you, I am _screaming_. My musical nerdiness is coming out once again. I'm falling and fast. I don't know if I want help, even tho I fear I might need it soon. Fuck. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was just going to watch a concert/musical to write a rapport for in music. Not trip down into yet another fandom. The fact that my cats look a little like Munkustrap (btw, MUNKUSTRAP!!11!) and Mr Mistoffelees doesn't help. Help.
> 
> So hey, tea spilling pt. 2, everyone! Now this time feat. our fan favourite, Maryse Lightwood! Yay!? I'm still trying to have a good-mother-Maryse Maryse, but I think she needs to realize some things first and maybe I'll give her redemption or something later... idk. Anyhoo let's spill some tea, shall we!
> 
> This chapter has been written instead of multiple last-minute projects that I just don't want to do. idc. 
> 
> Enjoy :D

Alec's steps were determined when he walked through the portal into the graveyard surrounding the New York institute. He heard the footsteps of Ragnor from behind. Alec almost didn't bother to wait for the warlock. The wait wasn't long, Ragnor was by his side as soon as the portal had been closed. No words were said as the pair continued their way towards the big main doors. Behind them was Isabelle. So Alec's disappearance had been discovered. But then again, he mused, Ragnor had been asking about his whereabouts from Magnus, hadn't he? Had he been the one to notice Alec's absence or had he just been conveniently there, was the question.

"Where the hell have you been?" Isabelle said as she crossed her arms.  
"Not now, Izzy."  
"Oh don't 'not now' me! Do you have any idea what you have done? The whole institute has been turned upside down while looking for you! People are looking for you in the city. _Jace_ is looking for you out there!"  
"Oh do _I_ have any idea what _I_ have done? Do you have any idea of what has been done?"  
"Don't act like you're some kind of victim here. Your disappearing act made us lose the chance of finally ending that Central Park's demon's pathetic excuse of a life!"  
"I killed it. Where our mother is?"  
"What do you mean you kill-"  
"Isabelle. I don't have time for this. Where's Maryse?"  
"In her office, I think. She has been arranging your search, just for your information. I think you should maybe go and apologise."

"We'll see about that," Alec muttered under his breath as he pushed past his sister. She had all the rights to be worried about him. It was just that her fierier way of showing that worry was shown at the worst possible moment. The bustle in the ops centre died the second he stepped into view. Alec wasn't able to count the number of dirty glances that were pointed at him. And that was understandable. He had been the cause of the disturbance of the plans for tonight. Alec didn't stay to think about it too much. He assumed the warlock was still tailing him as he strode through the room. The silence was gone the second he disappeared behind the corner. As if he didn't still hear the annoyed complaints of "that damn kid should finally realize what's his place" and "why did we even bother". When they reached the door that Maryse was supposed to be behind, Alec turned to his companion.  
"Could you maybe..."  
"Wait outside? Of course, I'll keep watch."

The sound of the heavy door closing was enough to make Maryse turn her chair around to face the incomer.  
"Alec," she said as she saw the face of her first son. Worry was obvious from her face. And then it was gone. Anger was the emotion to replace it.  
"What on earth were you thinking? Walking out of the institute. Alone. Without telling anyone. You know very well that you shouldn't-"  
"How many know?"  
"About your little act? The whole institute! We have been scouring the whole building and the whole city for hours now!"  
"I didn't mean that. How many know about me being a warlock?" 

It was like Alec had kicked his mother right to her stomach. Her eyebrows couldn't seem to decide whether to jump to her hairline or to knit the distance between them together. The reaction might have been amusing if it were from literally anything else.  
"Who told you that?" Maryse said while she crossed her arms. Without a thought, Alec copied her manner.  
"I ended up on the couch of the High Warlock of Brooklyn. He told me. After that, I talked with Ragnor. Why didn't you tell me?"  
"What do you mean by ending up on the couch of Magnus Bane? Are you hurt?"  
"No, he fixed me up. Don't dodge the question, mother. Why didn't you _tell_ me?" Maryse looked away.  
"I would have."  
"Would you? When? When I was thirty and hadn't changed a bit for almost a decade and everyone had started to suspect something was going on? Or when the spell Ragnor put me under would nearly kill me? Or only if his glamour failed after not being reinforced because you drove him away? When exactly did you plan on telling me about the fact that I'm not a shadowhunter but oh so disgusting downworlder?" Alec's voice was getting louder by every question. Hopefully, no one was passing the bureau door...

"I would have told you when it was safe," his mother finally stood up from her chair and she walked over to her son. Alec was taller than her. Somehow Maryse seemed smaller than normal. This was an offputting sight, as she had always been that strong figure in Alec's life. Growing up, it had always been his mother who had been with him when he was weak and she usually ran the institute during her husbands - now rather frequent - business trips to Idris. Maryse Lightwood had always been the last woman anyone in this building wanted to go against. Well, anyone but her firstborn, it seemed.  
"Safe? Safe from what? Whose safety are we even talking about? Mine or just yours? Because the way I see it, the one who could get in trouble were I to know about my heritage was you. Was that what made you hide me? The fear of being exiled from hiding a warlock?"  
"Of course it was about your safety, Alec. You are my son and that makes you a shadowhunter. It's safer for you to stay here."  
"Oh yeah, the institute is _so_ safe for me as a fucking downworlder pretending to be a shadowhunter. Name one person from here, who wouldn't instantly try to capture me if they knew who, what, I am. Who wouldn't think the warlocks had kidnapped me and replaced me with one of their own. Who wouldn't see me as a spy or something along those lines. Give me even a single name."

The following silence was an answer in and of itself. Frustrated, Alec walked past his mother, her eyes now turned towards the floor. He unwrapped his arms around his torso and pushed them into his pockets as he paced around the room. When he had been younger, had Alec secretly hoped to become the head of the institute. Had he only worked hard enough and proofed himself worthy to be a shadowhunter. Just then, maybe, he could have had the chance to inherit the title from his parents. He would be a perfect fit, young Alec had told to himself. The institute would have a leader without losing a full-time shadowhunter. Alec would have time to do all the work and not worry about participating for patrols and he'd finally be useful for something. That was once again another dream to go to the shredder.  
"It's a cruel world out there, Alexander. No one would ever want to send their child out there. Especially if people are going missing."  
"Shouldn't that by now be my choice?" he was once again responded by silence. 

"How many know about me? Does father know?"  
"No one but Ragnor and I. We couldn't trust anyone in case the truth got out."  
"Not even me. Ragnor told me about the memories he took."  
"You were just a child. As responsible as you were already then, it was too likely you would have let something slip."  
"Was that also the reason no one outside of our institute even knew I existed? When I told Magnus that I was your son, he was confused. Told me that the Lightwoods' son was still a child, but that they did have a daughter around my age. Did you think that he would have taken me away were he to meet me?"  
"I think this whole conversation is just a confirmation that my fears were correct."  
Silence fell for what felt like the hundredth time. Maryse still stood in front of the door, Alec still slowly pacing in a circle. 

"I think it's for the best if I go with Ragnor. I know what I am. We both know I can't keep living like this for much longer. I need to learn to be a warlock sooner or later."  
"As much as I hate to say it, you're right. It's your decision. But I still wished you'd stay. Maybe finally start teaching that Silverblood's girl some archery before her training sends her into an institute without as excellent archer as you."  
"I can't stay. Not anymore. Not while I know what I could be doing."  
"I know," Maryse's answer was a mere whisper. If Alec didn't know any better, would he have thought the woman's eyes were shining from unfallen tears. The hug came as a surprise. He couldn't remember the last time he had hugged his mother.

"Please, promise me you'll try to stay safe. You're my son, no matter what."  
"I'll promise I try."  
"And remember to call us every once in a while, okay? Don't go and disappear like tonight. What even was that about?"  
"I overheard you and Ragnor by accident and needed some fresh air to clear my head. I thought there was a warlock prisoner hidden inside the institute."  
"Oh, Alec... I am so sorry about everything." Alec pulled back a bit to look into his mother's blue eyes. He often heard how he had her eyes.  
"I haven't forgiven you, just know that. I don't know if I ever fully will. But I hope we can learn to live on despite that. I just... need some time." She nodded. Not all hope had been lost. There still was a chance of some kind of happiness between the two of them. 

"Will you leave right now?"  
"If it's okay with Ragnor, then yes."  
"What about Isabelle and Jace?"  
That Alec had forgotten about. He had to tell something to his siblings too. What could he even say? What would they say? How would the two react to the knowledge of their big brother being a warlock? Izzy would probably be more accepting, Alec had a hunch about what was going on between his sister and that Seelie, Meliorn. But Jace. He was a mystery. Their already a bit strange relationship wouldn't maybe be able to bear it. Maryse seemed to understand his sudden change in mood.  
"Maybe it's for the best if I tell them that you went with Ragnor to try to find a cure for your disorder. We can come up with a way to tell your siblings later when you have settled into your future life a little better."  
"Thank you. It might be the best we can do for now." Alec didn't like the idea of lying to his siblings, but there wasn't any other way he could think of right then. 

"I think I'll go now. I'll call at some point, okay?"  
"Okay. Stay safe," Maryse squeezed him for the last time before letting her son go. Alec began to walk towards the door. Then while opening it, he remembered something.  
"Oh, I almost forgot. You don't have to worry about that demon near Central Park. I took care of it."  
"What? By yourself? Are you surely alright?"  
"Yeah, as I said, Magnus patched me up. I found the thing harassing a warlock by accident and helped her defeat the thing, but I passed out right after that. She took me to him as repayment of some sort, I think."  
"Hmm. I guess not all downworlders are just as bad as we're told then..."  
Alec closed the door behind him.

"So, you're coming with me, then?" Ragnor looked more pleased than he maybe should have as the two warlocks walked down the corridor towards Alec's bedroom.  
"Did you listen to us?" Alec didn't mind. The warlock already knew everything.  
"Oh no, of course not. I'm just guessing from the fact that you haven't yet told me to get lost."  
"Hmm, we'll see about that. I'm also guessing it's okay if I come with you." He opened the door to his room. There wasn't much in there. Just the bare necessities.  
"I have had a room reserved for you for almost ten years now. I think it's more than okay. You don't have to pack too heavily. You can always come back if you forgot something, or we can buy something new in England. Just make sure you have something for rainy weather."

In the end, Alec had one suitcase with him, when he and Ragnor quietly made their exit. Warlocks couldn't create portals inside the building, so they still had to go out. That meant walking past the ops centre. Fortunately, it had quieted down after Alec's return. No one gave the two even a glance as they silently walked past. 

The night in New York was still relatively warm. At the other end of the portal, it was still night, but now it was raining slightly.

This was the start of a new life for Alec.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there it was. I don't know if I'm totally happy with this or not, but I didn't want to wait any longer with posting this. Feel free to give me your thoughts.
> 
> So, this was my 2k word by mostly dialogue pt.2. Yay! (?) I have always considered myself to be more of a description type of guy, but I guess this fic has turned out to be as much of dialogue practise as it is English practise. 
> 
> Quick sidenote about that Izzy/Meliorn thing at the end. I know that Izzy is younger in this fic (her 18th just around the corner) but if I remember correctly, they had a small fling in the books too and she was around the same age then too, so I'll let it be there for the sake of that one small thought. I doubt I'll talk about it again...
> 
> Now I shall return to ~~blasting Cats musical~~ doing my schoolwork before it's too late!
> 
> See you in the comments and the next chapter!


	8. Breaking free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec woke up after four hours of sleep and wasn't able to go back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salut! (damn it was difficult to write that a :D)
> 
> So, I want to clear up something I think I didn't clear up really well before. The "Alec's hidden from the world" thing, I mean. I talked about it a little in the comments, so I'll just copy my essay here for the people who don't venture down there :)
> 
> _About Alec being hidden, I'd say he's known among the shadowhunters as well as any other shadowhunter. If you know Lightwoods, you at least know about him. The thing is (or what I think the thing is) that because he is seen as an invalid, not many care about him very much. In this au, Izzy is more in the first child status, tho maybe not in the New York institute's community, where Alec's presence is actually impossible to not acknowledge. What comes to the outsider downworlders, the isn't many possible persons to be able to know about Alec, now is there? He doesn't go to the field nor deal with outsiders at all. Only times he's been actively hidden are the times when someone with the abilities to sense Alec come to the institute, you know. Like Magnus for example. Over-explanation over :D_
> 
> So today we're finally breaking free from the prison of glamors and shit :)) Hope you like this chapter more than I did... *I want to break free starts to play*
> 
> This chapter has been written alone, for my cat peed on the carpet and neither of them is allowed into the bedroom atm
> 
> Enjoy!

"So you're telling me that you have never even tried to draw a rune?"

  


* * *

  


Alec woke up after four hours of sleep and wasn't able to go back to sleep. Ragnor hadn't exaggerated when he had mentioned having a room for Alec. Of course, the house was huge - at least it looked to be from the inside - and reserving one room couldn't have been very difficult. But, it was the thought that mattered. It had been 3 am local time when the two warlocks had stepped through the portal into what looked like the front hall. Ragnor had promised to do a proper tour of the place in the morning. For the time being, the older warlock had taken Alec up two sets of stairs and shown him a room at least three times the size of his old room at the institute. A snap of green fingers left the room smelling fresh and free of even a speck of dust. Only a yawn told Alec how tired Ragnor must have been. Time zones, his host explained and then said good night. After an exhausting day, the new bed felt amazing and Alec was out before his head had even touched the pillow.

Sunlight filtered through the green curtains. Now that he was more awake, Alec could focus on looking around. There weren't many pieces of furniture. He had a queen-sized bed with neutral grey linen, an old dresser, antique-looking table accompanied by an old fashioned office chair. Everything in there looked a little outdated at the very least. The empty bookshelf could have easily been made a century or two ago. After the more sterile-like environment of the institute, the darker colours and older designs felt homey and comforting. When Alec got out of bed, his bare feet touched a warm carpet, instead of the wooden floorboards. Carefully, looking out for possible creaky floorboards - there wasn't any - he walked to the nearest window. The room was in the attic. The walls ended at shoulder-height and turned into the inner side of the roof. Alec had to bend down a little to not hit his head while nearing the window. Based on how far away the garden seemed to be, Alec guessed there were at least two storeys beneath him. The view when he looked up nearly took his breath away.

Ragnor had never told Alec much about his home. Other than that it was located near London, of course. He had looked softer than usual when talking about his home. Now Alec could understand. Golden sunlight highlighted the colourful and vibrant garden. The area was surrounded by ancient-looking trees and behind them, Alec could see the green countryside of England. Open fields, a few trees here and there and in the distance seemed to be a town or a village. Unlike all the images he had had in his head, the sky was bright blue and only a few fluffy clouds drifted across it. The trees had new leaves and the grass was already vibrant green. Alec stared out of the window and wondered how the view would change with the summer just around the corner.

After a couple of minutes, Alec brought himself back to reality. There were two doors on the opposite wall from the bed. The right one Alec could identify to be the door he had come through last night. But the left one. The bathroom was quite a surprise. When the style of the bedroom had been historic was the bathroom more modern than the bathrooms of the latest design magazines. All blacks and whites, with straight lines and minimalistic style. Scandinavian design, would someone with better knowledge on design say. For Alec, it was just nice to have a modern bathroom. While taking a brief shower he tried to imagine what it would feel like to renovate an old house with magic. How did it even happen? He should probably just ask Ragnor. Clean towels were waiting next to the shower. Big, soft and somehow a little warm towels. Was there anything in this house that wasn't in some way magical?

  


* * *

  


_If you see this, I haven't yet woken up. The kitchen is on the ground floor, turn left from the stairs and you should see it. There should be something to eat. Make yourself at home.  
-R.F._

Alec had had so much free time in his hands that he could call himself a decent cook. Isabelle couldn't make anything even if her life depended on it, as it would have had she not lived in a place with a cafeteria. His siblings had joked often how he should pursue a career in culinary instead of reckless demon-killing. The thought of Izzy and Jace made Alec pause his movements. The eggs sizzled on the pan. He had left them without a word. No explanation, no goodbyes, nothing. He had run away again, hadn't he? Coward, the small voice in the back of his head whispered. A coward who can't even face his siblings when fleeing. Things would have maybe started flying if the sound of nearing footsteps hadn't reached Alec's ears.

"Oh, fried eggs," a sleepy voice came from the archway entrance of the kitchen. It was also modernized. Unlike the bathroom, however, the kitchen still on the surface looked a lot like an old kitchen. Many of the appliances were disguised as cupboards and the stove looked like someone had added an induction stove on top of an antique, cast iron stove.  
"I made extra if you want too," Alec said. He took the pan off the hot plate and began to search for some plates.  
"Yes, please. Let me take care of the table," a wave of a hand brought two plates into existence, setting them onto the breakfast counter with no right to fit into the style of the kitchen as well as it did.

"Tea?"  
"No thank you. Do you have coffee?"  
"Who do you think you're talking to? I have whatever you want and soon so do you. It's all just a question of what should I conjure right now for us."  
"Yeah, right. Sorry."  
"Oh don't start. It's too early for this. What the hell made you wake up so early?"  
"Couldn't sleep. I didn't wake you up, did I?"  
"No, I'm just a creature of habit, I'd say. Here."  
"Thanks."

They ate in silence, Ragnor too sleepy and Alec too cautious to start a discussion. The warlock didn't seem to be bothered by the lack of small-talk and Alec was more than happy to share this opinion. He wasn't a small-talker. His siblings, on the other hand, liked to spend their mealtimes chitchatting. And there they were again. He should at the very least call. Later. There was a five-hours-long time difference between them. If he called now, it would be 3 am in New York. Murders are being committed from smaller crimes. Ragnor must have caught on Alec's sour face.  
"So," he began, draining the rest of his tea in one go. "As I said last night, I'll give you a tour of the house and the grounds in a minute, but before that, I have another promise to fulfil. Here you go."  
A piece of paper appeared in front of Alec's plate. On the other side was a string of numbers and underneath them a letter M.  
"Is this?" Alec asked hesitantly. He didn't want to sound too hopeful.  
"Yes, it's Magnus' number. He'd never let me be if I didn't give it to you," Alec's host sighed. "I'd text him at some point to confirm that I did what he asked. Weirdly, my word never seems to be enough... anyway, let's go have that tour!"

The house had four floors if one included the attic and the cellar. The ground floor included the open and inviting living room - also serving as the library - kitchen and a dining hall. A door next to the stairs led into what Ragnor called his "if I had work-related visitors" room.  
"A meeting room is also an acceptable term." The first flight of stairs led into a hallway through which you could enter into most of the guest rooms.  
"My room is the one ate the very end. The rooms on the left are usually used by the few friends I have that visit me. The ones on the right are more often than not unused. If you for any reason need an extra room, just pick one from there."  
Alec had no idea why he'd need another room for himself. His original room had too much space for him to know what to do with. Was it a warlock thing to have an extra room or something? The answer seemed to be found on the next floor,

Only one part of the attic had been renovated into living space; Alec's room and the room opposite to it. That room was exactly what the media tried to sell as the wizard's lair. The curtains almost covered the windows, letting only a little sunlight into the shady room. The main light source turned out to be the candles that lit up when the pair entered. The room was simultaneously extremely clean and a terrible mess. Piles and piles of books covered tables and parts of the floor. There was a cauldron next to a bookstand with an ancient tome open on top of it. The end wall was covered in shelves, filled with bottles, containers, jars and plants Alec had never seen even a drawing of. From the diagonal roof was also hanging pots of plants and he was sure that something moved in the cage located a few meters to his left.  
"It's not necessary to have a specific room for practising magic, but I personally prefer it like this. I appreciate having the rest of the house clear from the eventual messes these things tend to create from time to time," Ragnor said smiling a little. He had seen the look on Alec's face.  
"Right," was the only response Alec could think of. He tried to see himself with a room like this. 

"Don't worry about it too much right now. You have time, trust me on that," his host flashed a quick smile and walked to the open book. "No, right now we have other things to worry about."  
"Such as?"  
"Such as your magic and memories. I think removing the magic block is a more pressing matter, but if you want, we can begin with your few missing memories."  
Oh. Right. Alec had almost forgotten about _that_ thing.  
"I trust that you know what you're doing."  
A pause. "What are you doing, exactly?" Ragnor turned to look at Alec again. His expression was focussed, medical even. He sized Alec up with his gaze and returned to flip the pages.

"I'm going to open the gates, figuratively. It will take a while, maybe an hour to complete, but after the ritual, you should be just like any other young warlock who is starting to learn to control their magic. That's something we have to take into account. Your magic might as well still be on the same level it was when you were five. It may have matured along with you, but better safe than sorry."  
"How are you going to release the magic then?" Alec also approached the book to peer over Ragnor's shoulder. The pages were filled with tiny, dense writing and drawings of sigils. It wasn't in English, but that didn't seem to bother Ragnor much.  
"Do you want to start now?"  
"Better to get over it, right?" the older warlock just nodded approvingly.  
"Very well then. I think this will be more comfortable if you laid down for the ritual. Why don't you go to your room and prepare yourself mentally while I'll search for the spell we'll need? You should be as calm as possible for this."

Alec sat down on the side of his bed. Calmness, Ragnor had said, was the best possible state of mind. But Alec wasn't calm. No, not in the slightest. His heart was racing almost as fast as his thoughts. This was it. This right here. This was the end of his life as the invalid shadowhunter. Here started his life as a warlock. In the last 24 hours, his life had been doing backflips one right after another. The thought felt surreal. Only a little over twelve hours ago he had crossed paths with the High Warlock of Brooklyn who had spilt the beans about everything. That reminded him. Alec took his phone from his pocket and took out the piece of paper Ragnor had given him after breakfast.

to: Magnus Bane, 9.23 AM  
Hi, Ragnor told me to inform you that he did what you asked him to do.  
-Alec Lightwood

For an unknown reason, Alec felt a little giddy from sending the text. The feeling was completely irrational, he was sure of that. But still. The memory of the warlock winking at him when he left resurfaced. Alec had never met a personality like that. Sure, he hadn't met enough people for that to be weird, but you get the point. Magnus was an intriguing character. He knew Ragnor, so maybe there was a chance Alec would get to meet this other warlock again. Maybe by then, he would have gained some control of his magic. Hopefully. The door opened.  
"Alright then, we can start now," Ragnor had the book with him, opened almost from the end.  
"Okay. What should I do?" Alec hoped his voice didn't shake as badly as he thought it shook. Breathe, he reminded himself.  
"Just lie on your back and try to relax. If anything starts to hurt, tell me immediately," Alec obeyed and lowered his head to the pillow. Following a deep breath, he could hear Ragnor starting the ritual.

  


* * *

  


For the first time after a lifetime full of weird buzzing in the back of his head, Alec felt himself relaxing  
He could feel the pleasantly prickling sensation spread over his body  
Finally, _finally_ , he felt like he could breathe freely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So welcome to the Fell residence! About the design and appearance of the house. I know there is like one shot of Ragnor's house in the TV series, and yes it's nice and all, but. But(t). Have you _seen_ what English country houses look like? Like the historic manors, cool and huge buildings the wealthy build for themselves to have a place to escape the ugly London to? Damn. Why can't our Dear Little Cabbage have something more like that? So hey, I gave him that :D At least a little bit. I didn't go full-on Extreme Makeover, I just epic-ed up the house a little, just for my own amusement...
> 
> I had to keep this short for once, I have to start studying for my driver's licence... 
> 
> Next time, some magic~ 
> 
> See you!!


	9. Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were many things he hadn't expected to be a part of having magic flowing freely through one's veins. At first, Alec felt like his body was recovering from falling asleep and his limbs tinkled when he moved them. That, however, had stopped after a few hours. All of Alec's senses appeared heightened. The colours of nature he had admired that morning shone brighter, looked more alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings.
> 
> Guess what! I'm finally on a summer holiday! It's once again time for a good ol' seasonal depression! Yay :D
> 
> I have too much time in my hands and I can't get anything done. At the time I'm writing this, it's the second day of my break and I'm already anxious, passive and unable to even get up from my bed. I've been trying to get a job, but unsurprisingly no one wants to hire a barely adult kid with not so much experience on anything but theatre and how to survive in Belgium for a while. 
> 
> Grammarly, Tumblr and other fics have been haunting me with their writing tips, ratings and skills. Apparently my writing is on the level of a 12-year-old kid or something. And yeah, that's fair I guess, but did you really have to say it like that, did you? My use of rare words is ridiculously below average and my writing lacks unique words. I've been desperately trying to improve, but I can't come up with a clever replacement for every fucking adverb. And how does one even manage to keep the paragraphs so short?
> 
> So in the honor of my mood, today's chapter is a shameless filler and only preps for the next phase of the fic, which I like to dub as "The Hogwarts Season". Maybe next time we get some more action if I can get my act together.
> 
> Enjoy!

From: Magnus Bane 2.21PM  
Well isn't that lovely to hear ;)

  


* * *

  


There were many things he hadn't expected to be a part of having magic flowing freely through one's veins. At first, Alec felt like his body was recovering from falling asleep and his limbs tinkled when he moved them. That, however, had stopped after a few hours. All of Alec's senses appeared heightened. The colours of nature he had admired that morning shone brighter, looked more alive. The silence of the morning ceased to exist, replaced by the low humming of all the magic surrounding Ragnor's home.

"It's mostly the wards. Powerful magic has a bad habit of being loud when one is magically over-sensitive," the warlock explained when confronted about it.

The said warlock's personality had done a complete u-turn, Alec had noticed as the day went on. Gone was the irritated and grumpy Englishman who only tended to show up when things got bad. That warlock had glared at everyone and directed his rare tight-lipped smile towards the young boy he was currently taking care of. He was one command away from being forced to be there. Or maybe one command over the line of being forced to be there.

The current Ragnor was still an irritated and grumpy Englishman, there was no denying that. But now Alec ate dinner with a warlock who reminded him of a mix between a professor and a nurse. The older warlock described in detail how they would return Alec's taken memories after they were done eating. Every few sentences the man stopped and urged the younger warlock to eat a little more. Or asked if Alec was sure he had enough energy to do this tonight. Which Alec was.

"This will be much more exhausting than unlocking your magic," Ragnor warned for what must have been the fifth time. Alec nodded and kept trying to figure out what had so drastically improved in the flavour of spaghetti. He could swear there was _something_ new in the taste. Whether it was a new spice or something to do with his magic, he didn't know.  
"How are you feeling? Has your magic started to settle already?" Ragnor eyed his guest over the rim of his teacup. He had finished his dinner already and had moved on to the dessert. Either that man had a plan to make Alec gain a couple of extra kilos or he had a sweet-tooth and a bad one.

"I guess it is. Or at least my limbs don't tinkle anymore. It's like I'm in peace for the first time in years," Alec said after a brief consideration. He was surprised by this feeling. You can't miss something you didn't know you didn't have.  
"That's good. We should start practising tomorrow. You have to learn how to find your magic and use it. You may feel it everywhere in you but there is a spot from where it is easier to access. We'll talk about that more tomorrow, okay?" Alec nodded again. 

He stared the back of his hand. The golden glitter felt foreign and familiar. Like a comfort blanket from your early childhood that you found from the attic. The colour danced and swirled in delicate curlicues, covering the skin from the tips of his finger to where they disappeared beneath his sleeves. Alec knew the glittering stream decorated his back, followed down his backbone and spread over his legs the same way it covered his arms. It hugged his torso and climbed up his neck, caressed his face. Its movements were sluggish, barely there. 

Alec couldn't say where was the starting point. It all just flowed, even the sharpest ends of the thinnest branches. They didn't end there, he mused when tracing his gaze across the glitter on his hand. Warlock marks, Ragnor had explained when Alec had laid his eyes on his hands for the first time, were a two-sided story among their people. Some - like Ragnor, for example - wore them proudly. They didn't see a problem with walking among the mundanes and showing off their unique bodies. If a mundane could even see them in the first place, they wouldn't nor could do anything about it. Even without glamour, only more open mundanes or the ones with the Sight could truly _see_ the warlock marks. 

Some were more of the private type.

"These marks are a sign of our heritage. The demonic side of us. It isn't unusual for the children of the same types of demons to have similar marks. Some, many, see them as a burden, as a curse. It reminds them of how separated they are from their human side. They don't want anyone to see their 'dirty side' - if you know what I mean - nor do they want to see it themselves. But that is just another extreme, much like myself. Most warlocks tend to hide their marks when public or with company unknown to them. How you want to deal with yours, is up to you. It would be hypocritical of me to deny you the right to wear your mark proudly, but I understand if you wish to hide them for now." 

Alec liked his mark, it brought up memories of the runes of shadowhunters. There were many distinctive differences, sure, but the flowing curves and elegant patterns reminded him of his family if only a little. But did he want to let everyone see it? There was a thought to consider. They meant that Alec truly was only a half-shadowhunter. His father, the biological one, was a demon. A powerful one, if Ragnor's theory was correct.

Alec swallowed the last forkful of his dinner and followed Ragnors example by taking a piece of the pie. His ponderings could wait until after the dessert.

  


* * *

  


"Are you certain this is the best decision, Lightwood?" Ragnor voice echoed. Alec felt like he was underwater.  
"This will cause a lot of pain and can blow up in your face and badly," what had Alec decided to do? He couldn't understand. There was a teacup in his hand.  
"I'm sure we could arrange something safer," the cup was huge.  
"No. This is the only option we have. He can't be taken away, not now. How could I let you, your kind, take my son away from me?" that was his mother. Alec's mother was here, everything was still fine. His mom wouldn't let this scary-looking man do anything bad to him. 

Alec knew this man was a warlock. He had said it himself when introduced. He had heard stories of creatures with strange features. That's how the rhyme went. Watch out, watch out, they're up for something bad, no doubt. But he had to admit this weird green man was okay. He had given Alec cookies - biscuits, as he had called them - and tea. He had been nice and hadn't cried like mom did when he saw the gold on his skin. The glitter was interesting to him. He hadn't noticed the awesome black feathers mixed in his hair, though. He should maybe show them to mom first. 

"You must understand that he cannot stay under the assumption of being one of you forever. There's going to be a day he'll have to find out."  
"Let that be another day. A day when he's able to understand a little better."  
Were they talking about him? No, they couldn't. Alec understood things very well, thank you for asking. He reached for another cookie. He could maybe try and take some for Izzy too. She also liked cookies. These would make her so happy. 

"I need a few days to prepare. What you're asking is much more dangerous than you even realize. I want to be as ready as possible."  
"Of course. You have three days. We will return then."  
"Hmph. Should I be surprised?" the warlock came into the sitting room, mom following behind him. Alec tried to hide the cookies in his hand to his pocket.

"Would you maybe like a bag with those?" the green man smiled. Mom looked angry. Alec didn't understand.  
"No, we're not taking anything with us. Can you make him forget ever being here?"  
"Yes, but are you sure it's a go-"  
"Then do it, warlock. The fewer people who know, the better. And hide that glitter, he doesn't have to look like a clown while we wait."

  


* * *

  


The room was the same as the last ti- no. He hadn't been there before, right? Alec tightened the grip of his mother's hand. They stood in a small room filled to the brim with stuff. Alec had never seen so many books. Or maybe there were more in the institute's library, but that place was much bigger, so it wasn't the same. A vague memory of tea nagged the back of his head. Weird. The warlock - Alec knew the man was a warlock, he looked weird - walked from shelf to shelf in the room and collected a pile of stuff in his hands. Books, bottles and things he had never even seen before.

"I still don't support your plan, Lightwood," he grumbled. His fingers looked as weird as the rest of him, Alec observed.  
"You don't have to, you'll do as you're told, warlock. Alec has to be protected," mom's hand pushed Alec to stand closer to her. Was he in danger? He glanced curiously at his mother, but she didn't return the look. She glared at the warlock. He sighed.  
"Very well then. Alec, would you please come and sit over there?" 

He only obeyed when mom gave him a nudge. If she thought this was safe, he trusted her. She was his mom. The sofa was comfortable. More comfortable than any surface at the institute. Alec sank deep into the cushions. The warlock leaned over him and drew something on his forehead with some liquid. Alec didn't know what nor why, but mother didn't stop the man so it must be fine.  
"Now, I need you to relax. This might sting a little, but it will go away quickly."

  


* * *

  


The second morning waking up in his new room came as a shock. Hadn't he just been in the small, but cluttered room with Ragnor leaning over him? He had been just a kid? What happened? The memories of the previous night came back slowly. Alec remembered the warlock warning about possible confusion when he'd wake up. So those nights he was made to forget. A vision flashed before his eyes and he jumped to his feet. The full-body mirror in the corner confirmed the strange memory.

The feathers were as black as his hair and only a little shorter. They didn't grow from his head. Rather their shafts seemed to just stick to his own hair and magically just stay there. Them going unnoticed wasn't shocking, not when his other mark was much more striking. His other mark. So he had two marks. Ragnor had four. 

He tried to pry one of the feathers from his hair. It didn't necessarily hurt when it came off, but the feeling wasn't exactly nice either. Alec couldn't name a bird to which the feather belonged. Not that he could name many birds even with an alive specimen, and definitely not from a single feather. He should once again ask Ragnor.

The breakfast followed the same script as the previous one. Alec was there before Ragnor, looking through cupboards for something to have for breakfast when the latter arrived. A flick of a wrist left the breakfast counter filled with food and two steaming cups filled with tea and coffee respectively. Alec felt a spark of excitement. He would be able to do that. That and so much more. 

"How difficult it is to do that?" he asked while settling on his chair.  
"That depends solely on how quickly you learn. If you are familiar enough with a certain action, it won't be too difficult for you. I have been conjuring a meal for myself for centuries now, it isn't difficult nor challenging to do," Ragnor said. He took a sip from his cup.  
"We should start with your studies after breakfast. The sooner learn how to manage and control yourself, the lower the chances with something... unfortunate happening."

And so it was settled.

Meditation was also a new experience. Shadowhunters valued the physical training over mental, that was a common fact. For him - and many other younger shadowhunters - meditation meant wasting your time, sitting cross-legged and daydreaming. Clearing one's mind turned out to be difficult. When one thought of the recent events finally left his mind, another one popped up to replace it. His magic, Magnus, Maryse, Magnus, feathers...

"Focus on your breathing. The same way as you'd if you were to shoot an arrow. Reach inside of you and find your magic's core." 

A deep breath. Another one. And another one. Alec tried to reach into himself. His head, his hands, his chest, his stomach- there. There he could feel a ball of energy. Like butterflies, but in a tight knot. He wanted to poke at it. To see what happened. He reached his metaphorical hand towards it, but something jerked him away from the state of focus.

A fire message flew towards him. Ragnor regarded him, raising one eyebrow. Alec blinked, staring at the paper in his hands. Well, there was only one way to figure out what it said. Carefully he folded the paper open. The text was in Izzy's handwriting. The words made Alec's blood freeze.

_If you won't even answer your damn phone after disappearing to thin air, don't expect us to answer when you call.  
-Isabelle & Jace_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ups... sorry, my hand slipped...
> 
> Filler, filler, filler, sorry about that...
> 
> I had a nightmare after posting the previous chapter. In it, my inbox was filled with hate comments on how I didn't mention Max when talking about Alec's siblings. I think this was the punishment my subconsciousness came up with. 
> 
> Don't worry too much, this will be sorted. Some day. I promise. 
> 
> Maybe.
> 
> See you in the comments and in the next chapter!


	10. Just call me maybe?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **_A Direct Translation of My Plot Notes_ **
> 
> This is the next bit of fläshbäk from the rune bitch, sit angstia ku sister does not play, the message äipäl. Sit aleta is practicing, but concentration is what it is and then the Ragnor returns to the surface and decides to take Alec out for a moment when they come home a life revolutionary has come to the village, cute but it stays hängeriks and it and sit is exciting o.o
> 
> This has been _A Direct Translation of My Plot Notes_ by Google

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yo, no glasses check!
> 
> This is already the 10th chapter!! I'm so happy I didn't give up immediately after starting to do this, as it has brought me so much joy in the form of comments and feedback and just writing this! Thank you, everyone!
> 
> Writing doesn't come off easily for me right now. I don't know why is everything so stiff? Idk, might be from the fact that it's 23.28 atm and I'm writing this from my bed without my glasses and in the dark... meh, I'm just dumb
> 
> So I needed a little change of pace, so here we go, finally skipping more than a few hours at a time! I'll save the details for the next chapter ;)
> 
> Don't ask me about the titles of this fic, I don't know any better than you.
> 
> Enjoy!

_"So you're telling me that you have never even tried to draw a rune?"_

Jace had had the third anniversary of his arrival at the New York institute last week. Not that it was celebrated in any way, but the date was significant enough for Alec to take a note on it. To be totally honest, it was rather difficult _not_ to notice its arrival. No. The boy who even on a good day reminded the other's of a highly trained warrior, not a thirteen-year-old, became twice as closed and distant as that day inched closer. Alec, as well as most people at the institute, understood why. It was the anniversary of the boy's father as well. The father, whose death the poor kid had had the terrible fate to witness. 

As his - somewhat recognized - big brother, Alec took it as his responsibility to try cheer Jace up a little. The others were busy, even Izzy with her additional whip training. Sparring was out of the question. Jace had done that enough for a while. Alec had to come up with another way to distract him. So he did the same as he always did when he felt overwhelmed. When he needed to be alone with his thoughts. He took Jace to his safe haven.

The flowers bloomed in all the colours of the rainbow around them. The greenhouse had been Alec's favourite place in the whole building, ever since he discovered the place by accident soon after getting his diagnosis. These flowers had offered him support for almost a decade now. Maybe if Jace could be able to see their beauty too, they could finally have something to share. Even if just a place to escape to.

"So, what do you want?" Jace looked around. His arms were crossed, posture tense.  
"Nothing really, I just wanted to show you the greenhouse. I don't think you have been here before," his brother frowned slightly.  
"Is there something I should know about? I've got stuff to do, you know. Training." 

Sometimes Alec wondered, how could he ever have the patience to deal with Jace. Despite being two years - more like a year and a half - younger, Jace was already well above Alec when it came to fighting. And Alec was by no means weak. Quite the opposite. When it came to battle sans runes, Alec was one of the strongest among his age group. He had to be. There was no other way for him to stay in the game. The feeling seemed to be the same for Jace, though for different reasons.

"You train too much and you know that. Sometimes rest is the only route to get better. Don't do the same mistakes I have done, it's not worth it," Alec said. When he didn't receive an answer, he sighed and sat down on the ground.  
"I come here whenever I just need to be alone. To collect my thoughts, gather myself. Not many come here nor will many come to look for me from here. You looked like you needed a similar space. It's a big greenhouse, I'm sure it'll fit two brothers."

"What do you mean by doing the same mistakes you've done?" Jace didn't sit, but he didn't leave either. That should count as a victory. Alec almost sighed from relief. He had already started to fear Jace getting mad at him. But he had asked a valid question. A one he should answer. Even though he didn't want to. There was no real reason to relive those times. Alec looked at the younger boy up and down. Tense, ready to bolt out of the room. Sadness hidden behind those golden eyes. Maybe there was a reason.

"I was desperate when I was younger," Alec whispered. No one but Jace would hear him, but this wasn't something he willingly admitted. "The thought of getting better, being good enough, haunted me. It consumed me. If only I pushed a little harder, I might be able to bear it all. I didn't do anything but training and by the time you arrived, I was already on the verge of a breakdown. 

"I don't blame you for missing the crash. It wasn't pretty, nor was it something anyone wanted you to witness, not then. Honestly, it's not something I'd want anyone to witness. Those times weren't my proudest. Sometimes it's good to take a step back. Preferably before someone comes and forces you. Take a step back and just... take a look at your life, what you're doing with it. What are your goals and how do you plan to reach it. 

"If becoming the best is the goal, you have to consider the best way to achieve it. Is it truly to beat yourself up, day after day after day? Are there better, healthier and more efficient ways? Is the goal even reachable? Is what you're asking just too much? What if you just-"

"So what you're telling me is to just... give up? After everything? Give up, just like _you_ did, huh?" Alec jerked back to the current time and looked up to his brother. There might as well have been smoke coming out of Jace's ears. His eyes were open wide, lips twisted in a scowl.  
"No! That's not... I wasn't going to. I just want you to be just a little bit more careful. I recognize the path you're taking. It's the one I can't take. Just... take care of yourself. Better care then I did, okay?"

"And if your advice is so good, then why aren't you following it? Or did you just like the break-taking part too much to carry on?" he was doing it on purpose. He was doing it on purpose. Don't get too riled up, Alec. That kid was out for a fight.  
"I realized not everything I dreamt about was realistic. I was born with my limitations. You don't have them. You can fight in a real battle, you are a reliable force on the field. You can bear runes."

"And you can't," Jace stated. The fight was leaving the younger boy's body. He sat down, right opposite to Alec.  
"Never have and never will."  
Maybe they could settle on a truce. This ridiculous game of jealousy, arrogance and self-loathing had to stop. They had to grow up. Alec should be a better brother, to all of his siblings. Be their support as much as possible. They deserved it.

Without much of a warning, a spark of excitement sparked in Jace's eyes.

"So you're telling me that you have never even tried to draw a rune? Would you like to try? I can help."

  


* * *

  


15 missed calls, 34 texts. Eight calls from Izzy, seven from Jace. 17 texts from Izzy, 13 from Jace, two from Maryse and one from Magnus. The latest message was from Isabelle. 

From: Izzy 12.36 PM  
Alexander Gideon Lightwood, if you don't answer right now, I swear to angels I'll never speak to you again!

The previous ones followed along the same lines, her texts getting more and more desperate. Alec was a terrible brother, wasn't he? Jace's texts weren't as bad, but not much better either.

From: Jace 12.11 PM  
alec please pick up already! izzy is mad and i think shell do something stupid soon...

His messages were less aggressive and didn't it just make everything twice as bad. Jace hadn't gotten mad at him for years. His passive, accusing tone was somehow even worse than Isabelle's half-scared, half-furious messages. Alec rubbed the scar on his left forearm. His mark almost covered the silver scar, the shape of the rune of angelic power. 

From: Mother Yesterday 3.03 PM  
How have you settled at Ragnor's? Can you call me when you can?

From: Mother 2.01 AM  
Alec, why aren't you answering to Jace and Isabelle? Is everything alright? Please call as soon as possible.

Another pang of guilt flooded his gut. Even Maryse had been roped into this. Of course, she had been. He had made her be the messenger. This was all his fault. He had to fix this. There had to be a way to fix this. He selected Izzy's number and pressed _call_. The phone rang for a long time with no answer. Alec dialled Jace's number next. No one picked up. 

His breathing was starting to get faster. Calm down. Calm down. Alec dialled his mother's number next. Finally, someone answered.  
"Alec? Is everything alright?" came Maryse's voice and Alec exhaled loudly.  
"Mother. Yes, I'm fine. Everything is alright."  
"I- We were starting to get worried. Isabelle and Jace have been restless waiting for you to pick up your phone. Where were you?"  
"My phone was on silent. Ragnor performed some rituals to-"

"Don't say it aloud, I understand. I should have thought of that."  
"I'm sorry. My mind was just too occupied to remember my phone."  
"It has been a busy day for you, I'm guessing."  
"Yeah... you could say so."

There was a pause. Alec tried to think of a better way to bring up his worries but couldn't come up with any.  
"Izzy and Jace sent me a fire message. They don't and apparently won't pick up my calls."  
"They have taken your hasty departure quite badly. Especially Izzy. She can't seem to choose between the anger of you leaving without saying goodbye and the guilt of possibly driving you away."

Alec felt even worse. Did Isabelle feel guilty about him? Why? She hadn't done anything, had she? Maybe she was a little happy from him leaving and felt bad about that? That could very well be the case. There was no other explanation. 

"Can you forward a message from me? Tell them that I'm sorry. So sorry. And tell them that I'll give them some space. It's for the best if I stay here and that I hope we can fix everything someday. Can you tell them that?"  
"Of course," Maryse didn't sound happy about her newest task as his messenger. She didn't deserve this.  
"I need to go now. Tell them to call me, when they're ready. I'll keep the phone near."

They didn't call. Alec held on to the phone like a drowning man to a piece of wood. He waited for hours.

Ragnor decided that the best way to forget your sorrows was to focus on something else. They continued to search and study Alec's magic. He taught him how to draw out power from that ball of energy inside of him. Sparks flew from Alec's finger, but his phone didn't ring. 

The night came and went in silence. 

"Studying magic is like studying math. You need to learn the very basic elements to conquer the rest. So, for now, we'll focus on the most basic forms of magic. The skills you'll need the most in your day to day life. The magic equivalents of adding, subtracting, multiplying and diving."  
"Can you first teach me how to glamour myself? If I have to go visit the institute, you know."  
"... Very well then."

The lack of real effort amazed Alec. He had always imagined doing magic to be tiring and time-consuming. But then again, he was learning the basic spells. If the simplest of spells were exhausting to do, there couldn't be any harder magic. He shouldn't get too confident too quickly. Overestimating one's skills could turn outright lethal if unlucky enough, 

Alec stared the golden glitter retreating, leaving his arms bare once again. Ragnor nodded, a smug smirk tugging his lips. It was his second day of glamour-casting training. It was easier to hide the slowly swirling glitter than the feathers, Alec noted. They were harder to visualize. It was easier to hide something when you knew what you were hiding. 

They disappeared on the third day. It made Alec a little sad. The sight of little feathers mixed in his hair had grown on him. Maybe he could keep them. Those weren't too unusual, hardly noteworthy to an outsider. Ragnor didn't have anything against it.  
"It's your decision, there's nothing for me to say about it," the warlock hummed and passed Alec a thick book.  
"It's about conjuring, it might help you to start your practising."

Alec's phone didn't ring on the fourth day either. He was starting to get increasingly restless. The book was... okay, to be honest, the book was terribly boring. The words were written in cursive that gave Alec a headache he hadn't missed in the slightest. The language was old and the number of explanations given inconsistent. He was losing focus. The phone on the coffee table remained painfully quiet. His gaze frequently escaped from the words to the device. 

On the fifth day, they started the practical training. Ragnor had Alec move simple things from a few metres away into his hands. He missed the glamouring magic almost immediately. The thin book the older warlock had him moving around just didn't want to budge. Alec closed his eyes, tried to see the book in his mind and reach for it with no success. He exhaled, annoyed in himself and his inability to focus the way he should.

"Let's take a break," it was like Ragnor could read thoughts. He had been somewhat patient with Alec for now. He didn't hide his annoyance towards the silent treatment his student was receiving. He wasn't happy with Alec's insistence of giving them space. Damn shadowhunters and their lack of communication skills...  
"I was thinking I could take you to the nearby village. A change of scenery might be for the best. Just, let's take a step back for a second and relax."

The village was straight from a 19th-century novel, with its cobblestone streets, little stone houses and peaceful atmosphere. There was a river running through it, splitting the village in half. Not many people roamed the streets. Alec guessed most were in work or school, as it was an afternoon and he suspected today was a weekday. His sense of date had magically - no pun intended - vanished during his stay at Ragnor's house. 

"A few centuries ago this place was the unofficial capital of downworlders living in southern England," Ragnor explained as they strolled on the alleys and streets. "The northern side of the village was a home for multiple warlocks and even a werewolf pack. The local clan of vampires lived a little bit further away, in one of the manors. Back then it was normal to have blocked windows in big houses. The mundanes around here understood this place was special, but they knew better than to meddle."

"What happened then? I mean, surely you would have told me earlier if this place still was like that."  
"The location was compromised," Ragnor grimaced. "The Clave was even worse back then. They actively searched for reasons to kill us. So when they got a whiff of a place filled with downworlders, they not only destroyed the community but also spread the word. Warned the others. _Don't try to assemble, we won't allow it_."

"I'm sorry. That sounds terrible," Alec didn't know what he was apologizing for. He hadn't been there. But his ancestors were. He had declared allegiance to the Clave.  
"It's good to know your history, to learn from it and be better. You should also know that you can't just wipe a place clean of Downworlders in one quick strike. There is a lovely shop on the other side of the river. The owner has been here for quite a while."

The shop turned out to be an attic of an ancient-looking house, filled to the brim with magical objects, ingredients for potions and so, so many books. It reminded him of Ragnor's... lair? The owner, however, wasn't there. The only person in there with them was a young child. Long dark hair in two thick braids, dressed in a Persian blue dress, the kid sat in the corner reading a book. Alec would have moved his focus on more interesting features of the shop if Ragnor hadn't walked up to the child.

"Viviane, it's been a while, hasn't it. How's the shop doing?" the man greeted the child, smiling broadly. "Let me introduce you to Alec, he's staying with me for a while to study magic. Alec, this is Viviane, she is the best magical shopkeeper on the whole island."  
"Greetings, it is nice to meet you," the girl stood up and extended her arm towards Alec. As they shook hands, he noticed that instead of nails, Viviane had talons. She sounded French if only just a little. 

"We'll just look around for a moment, see if there's something we might need. My library is lacking with more beginner-level material. Alec, feel free to browse and ask me or Viviane if you need help."  
And wasn't that an instruction Alec followed gladly. For the first time for days, he forgot the phone in his pocket and like a child in a candy store, he disappeared into the shop looking for anything interesting. 

  


* * *

  


"Viviane," Ragnor began as they were walking back towards his house, "is believe it or not almost as old as I am. She has been living here, keeping that shop for centuries now, travelling around the world looking for new items to discover and sell."  
"But she looks so young?" Alec couldn't help but ask. 

"Warlocks stop ageing at various times. A large majority will at least reach maturity, some even age to the point of physical seniority. Viviane, on the other hand, hasn't grown even a little after her ninth birthday. Her appearance is both a blessing and a curse. For a child, it's easy to hide and stay unnoticed, but extremely challenging to deal with the 'adult world'. She has managed incredibly well if you ask me. She's a good neighbour to have."

They were nearing the border of Ragnor's wards.  
"Is there any way to predict when I'll stop ageing?" he had thought of this for a few nights now. Alec would outlive nearly everyone he knew. One day he'd wake up, looking the same as he had decades ago, without any family left alive.  
"No, I'm afraid. That is something we'll just have to wait and-"

Ragnor tensed when the two of them stepped through the wards. For a second the warlock's body started to settle down into a battle-like posture before he once again relaxed a little. He muttered under his breath something Alec couldn't quite catch.  
"What is it?" he asked with a low voice, his bow already in his hands, visible once again.  
"There's no need to draw weapons, Alec. It seems we have some unexpected visitors, that's all."

The front door opened before them, without much of input from neither of the warlocks outside. There was a tall figure behind the door. A delicious smell of dinner came from inside. With a flash of a bright smile and gleeful glint in his eyes, the figure spoke.

"Hello, my sweet little peapod! Alexander! Now tell me, what kind of welcome is this? Can't you bother to be present to greet an old friend?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh, this got kinda out of hand... 3000+ words of... something :'D wow o.o
> 
> Can you guess who's our guest?!
> 
> I was this, _THIS_ close to making that failed rune to be the deflect rune on his neck, but that just wasn't the logical place for some teens to try and draw runes, so I had to go with the angelic power one... at least the shape is iconic, am I right!
> 
> Also, I want to thank my dear friend Lila for her help with creating Viviane! The next side-character-warlock-nationality on our list is Belgium! (even tho technically Viv here is French, as Belgium wasn't a country when she was born...)
> 
> I feel like a mathematical genius while counting the 5 hour time difference between NYC and the UK...


	11. Guess who's back!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short and just some stuff, ok :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup!
> 
> Sorry, it's been a while. I've had a wild couple weeks, let me tell ya...
> 
> First, there was the Midsummer celebration with my aunt coming over and I was stuck in a cleaning spree my mum went on. After that came my 3 months late birthday party with the exact same situation. And _then_ I suddenly got my self a job for 1.5 months which completely ruined my previous writing schedule with its 4 evening shifts a week crap. And also, my mum is also on holiday and she's convinced we're supposed to do something every single day for the next two weeks.
> 
> I haven't even seen my laptop for over a week. I'll have to try and figure out a new writing plan for myself, so don't worry too much if the updates take a while, okay... I'll figure out something asap!
> 
> Edit: I was supposed to get this done last week, but I ended up doing a 4-day trip across the country (like I literally live by the western border and I ended up by the eastern one...). I also ended up getting a second job out of the blue so... yeah. No, I don't know either what the fuck is going on anymore :D
> 
> This is gonna be short an' sweet, ok? I barely even know how relationships are built, so like, this might not be very good, but it's something. Let your imaginations cover for my bad schedule.
> 
> Enjoy!?
> 
> p.s. Yes, Magnus is here :D

The thing Alec hadn't noticed during their previous encounter was how tall Magnus was.

Now Alec was by no means short. He was recognizably taller than an average man of his age. That, of course, didn't stop Magnus from being taller than him. He was tall, lean and had broad shoulders. Unlike the last time they had met - about a week ago - Magnus' hair now had vibrant red stripes in it. Were those his marks, or just a fashion choice, Alec didn't know. (He was guessing the latter. Magnus seemed to be the kind of warlock who had a bit more... impressive marks)

"So I got some lunch. Or I guess it's already dinner for you. Oh, the time difference," Magnus' dramatic sigh brought Alec back to the present. By the time he had managed to refocus, had Ragnor already almost disappear into the house.  
"Are you planning on dining outside, Hawkeye?"

Alec blinked. And looked behind himself. Was there someone else with them? The garden was empty.  
"Who?" Magnus raised his eyebrow.  
"Huh. Should have known better than to trust the shadowhunters to educate themselves on culture. Or on anything else than how to draw runes and swing a blade," the warlock muttered under his breath. "I meant you, Alexander. Let's not let the food cool down."

Alec didn't bother to point out how cold food couldn't have been big of an inconvenience for a warlock. He shrugged and followed the older warlocks into the house.

Magnus' lunch (or dinner) turned out to be takeout from some Thai restaurant Alec had never heard of. This, according to Magnus, was a crime, since the place was "the Beyoncé of the Thai restaurants of New York". The description seemed accurate, Alec decided after the first taste. "So, I'm not saying I am against this situation by any means but how exactly you ended up here, Alexander? Weren't you supposed to be at the New York institute less than a week ago?" Magnus asked while getting more food on his plate. He seemed mostly just curious, but Alec couldn't help but wonder whether that strange glint in his eyes was smugness or not.

He glanced at Ragnor. He just shrugged. "The circumstances... changed. Now that I'm aware of my... uh, magic, the obvious next step was to train to control them as well as possible. Ragnor is, was, the only warlock I knew and he knows about everything so he was the obvious and only choice. The shadowhunters aren't aware of all this, for obvious reasons, so it was deemed best that I came here."

It was obvious that Alec wasn't telling the whole story. The whole story wasn't something you should just tell anyone on the second meeting.  
"Alright, that makes sense. Ragnor is a- wait. Are you saying that Ragnor, _that_ Ragnor right there. Ragnor. _Fell_. Is your magic teacher?"  
"Magnus, let's not go there right now," Ragnor groaned and stood up from the table. 

"No, let's go there right now. Your way of doing magic is ridiculous! And you're forcing an innocent soul into your wicked ways," if Magnus wasn't grinning like a loon, Alec would have gotten worried.

"There is nothing ridiculous in my ways of doing magic. It's you and your constant need to oversimplify everything and mess with the instructions."

"The instructions are bad, outdated and bad. Admit it. You'd have to be multiple centuries old to understand anything written in all those books you have laying around."

"I _am_ multiple centuries old."

"And not everyone is. Alec isn't, right?" Alec shook his head. "Exactly. And how well have you understood the stuff Ragnor has had you read?"  
"They are quite complicated? The language is old and it takes a while to get used to it," Ragnor huffed and crossed his arms.  
"See? Even the pretty boy agrees with me! There are always young warlocks we older ones are taking under our wings. We have to make the learning process more beginner-friendly."

"And why do you think we just went to visit Viviane? She has simpler books than I do," that made Magnus stop for a second. Then, a warm smile spread across his face.  
"Oh? Did you go to see Viviane? How is she? I haven't had the chance to stop by in a while. Years, if I remember correctly." 

And so the conversation continued with the two friends going through their list of mutuals they had recently met. There were way too many names for Alec to keep up with the men, so he decided to give them their space and left to sit in the living room. The book he was practising conjuring with was still on the coffee table. Ragnor and Magnus would most likely still take a while, so he might as well use his time effectively.

The break had done wonders to Alec's ability to focus. The book seemed a little bit more agreeable towards Alec's attempts to move it and he could swear it had moved few centimetres towards him. True or not, that feeling helped him to push his efforts even harder than before. He could do this!

"Have you tried to imagine and visualize the book instead of trying to murder it with your stare?" Magnus' voice broke the silence behind Alec. When had he entered the living room? How long had Alec tried to conjure the book?

"Uh... I don't think so? I mean, wouldn't it be easier to conjure something I can see?"  
"Maybe, for some, that's the case. Ragnor's like that. But just by looking at you try doing, I am quite sure visualizing could be more useful for you. We can always try and if it doesn't work out we can figure out something else."

And that's how they ended up on the opposite corners of the living room, Alec with his eyes closed and Magnus with the book behind his back. This time Alec didn't have to guess whether or not the book had moved. When after a while it appeared a couple of metres in front of Magnus, it was obvious Alec had managed to do _something_. Magnus cheered and with an effortless wave, the book dropped into the warlock's hands.

"What are you two up to now?" Ragnor's head appeared in the doorway.  
"I'm teaching Alexander how to do conjuring properly. He's already managed to move the book a few metres," Magnus' face was bright. Alec found himself also smiling broadly.

"Hmm, that's very good Alec, I told you you could do it," Ragnor nodded and turned back to Magnus.  
"So. Are you finally ready to finally share why you are here? You rarely visit, even more rarely unannounced and never without a reason. So what do you want, Magnus?"

"Always so suspicious, my friend. I'll meet Karl in Elmshorn around eight and I just decided to stop by to visit a dear friend. Is that so hard to believe?"  
"Yes."  
"Hmph, alright then. So maybe I was curious about how things ended up going with your newest... project," Magnus snuck a look towards Alec. Why was that warlock so interested in him?

"Of course. Very well then. Is your meeting at eight in Germany's or our time?"  
"Germany's. We still have almost two hours. Do you think you could get the hang of conjuring in that time, Alexander?"  
"I guess we'll have to find out."

After the two hours Magnus stayed with Ragnor and Alec, Alec could somewhat reliably bring familiar objects into his hands from around the house. The idea of visualizing the object truly helped a lot. They also had some time left for Magnus to tell Alec a story or two about his and Ragnor's adventures from their long lives. The sounds of laughter and groans of embarrassment covered the quiet ping that came from the forgotten phone on the coffee table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's finally done! Again, sorry for the wait and thank you for your patience :D
> 
> Also, guess what! I've created a Tumblr for my "ao3 persona"! If you want to come and chat or just want another way to get updates on this fic or are interested in reading my inner monologues on unuseful stuff, you'll find me [here](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/whalewriting)!
> 
> See you there!!


	12. All in one gift?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **A Direct Translation of My Plot Notes #2**  
>    
> Alec tries to mentally share Izzy's fullness at the party, come up with something as a gift and decide what to tell them.
> 
> **This has been A Direct Translation of My Plot Notes #2 by translate.com**
> 
> (maybe I should consider writing "normally" in my notes so that the translators would understand me...)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I fucked up at home once again. I got super, super into my head and stuff (I think it's called hyperfocus in English? idk) and didn't do anything for like a couple of days. So I am doing what any normal person would do: hide in my room and try to cheer myself up by writing fanfic. Yay :D
> 
> Hello, kittens and puppies!!! How y'all doing :) 
> 
> I've discovered the joy of having two workdays in a span of 14 hours. Like yeah fiiine, the first job is physical factory/warehouse stuff and it sucks but has a nice paycheck and the second gives me a chance to see this amazing comedy play multiple times a week so it's not _that_ bad. (I like the theatre job more)
> 
> I grew tired of lowkey angst vibes that have been going on for a while, so here I'm going to start fixing everything. Aren't I so great 8) Wahoo!
> 
> Enjoy!

From: Mother 6.42 PM  
Hi, I hope everything is going fine. Can you call me when you're free? We need to talk about Izzy's coming of age ceremony.

* * *

It was common knowledge among her people that she was a strict and efficient leader. When she (and her husband of course, but to be totally honest it was her most of the time) wanted something done, it also got done. Things _worked_ and that was important. Even though she may not be the favourite person of anyone in the institute, she was respected as a leader.

Now the thing about Maryse Lightwood that most of her people didn't get to learn was that she was also a (somewhat) caring mother. Seeing half of her children moping and being all-around miserable all the time and knowing that most likely her eldest was also like that wasn't something she enjoyed seeing. The glue that held her three oldest childer together was now on the other side of the pond and things had started to fall apart already on the first day.

Even her more leading-inclined side has started to lose patience with the whole mess. Jace and Isabelle didn't get much done nowadays. The former spent most of his time training with no evidence of actual focus. The latter, more worrisome one, disappeared early and slept late. Maryse didn't even consider about sending either on the field. She didn't want to lose a child any more than she most likely already had. 

She did feel bad when she realized how bad consequences her decision of forcing Jace and Izzy to go and teach the two young shadowhunters currently living in the institute had caused. But how was she supposed to foresee that her eldest had decided to call back at the exact moment his siblings didn't have their phones on hand. She hadn't known about the fire message. And she didn't like the response message.

She forwarded it anyway. 

Alec deserved that much and so, so much more. It was the least she could do.

* * *

_"Are you sure it's a good idea for me to come? It's just... uh, would she want to have me there?" there was a sigh on the other end of the line.  
"Alec, you are her big brother. Yes, she'll want to have you there. And even if things are a little... strained at the moment, it is your responsibility not only as a part of the family but also as a part of the community."_

_Mother was right. As usual. If Alec wouldn't be there, it would raise more questions than him being there but not talking to his siblings. And he wanted to go. He wanted to see his family and celebrate the important milestone in his little sister's life. The one she had been waiting for like a child for Christmas. The one they had already had the chance to celebrate for Jace. (And Alec, but that hadn't been much of a celebration. More like a family gathering with some vows at one point.)_

_"When is the ceremony? And do you want to make some kind of special arrangements for my return?"_

* * *

The regret hit them both when they got the message. It was obvious to see from his conflicted, blaming glance, whose idea the message had been. She had taken the liberty of adding the detail of Ragnor doing some research and having Alec close his phone to the message. Neither of her children stayed in the room for long.

It was also obvious, as the days went by, that her children did not communicate. At all...

* * *

There is a question that many has pondered. A question some found answers for and some didn't. Now Alec was face to face with this particular puzzle.

What to get to a person who had everything and who might hate you? 

Giving a present to his sister used to be simple. Easy. She either told him directly what she wanted or she just so happened to have a notable item of interest just before any gift-requiring event. But there hadn't been anything. Not this time. Izzy and Jace had both been rather busy lately. They were often on the field and even more often occupied by training. And they hadn't talked much.

Ragnor had, unsurprisingly, turned out to be useless.  
"I haven't needed to come up with a gift for a shadowhunter's coming of age party for many, many decades. And I don't know your sister. Why not try to come up with something to do with her interests? That's often quite a nice gift to receive."

Magnus, who had still been hanging in Ragnor's living room when Alec had gotten the invitation, wasn't any better. His suggestion of just taking Izzy out for clubbing (He claimed to own a place. Alec didn't even bother to be surprised) or to get her something useful like a new weapon. Alec's explanation of how he didn't do _clubbing_ and how the institute already had an extensive armoury was only answered with a rise of an eyebrow. 

He had a week. Well, now he had just five days. At the time of the call, there had been a week.

* * *

From: Mother 1.29 PM  
No, she hasn't asked for anything specific.

From: Mother 1.31 PM  
I know that Jace is getting her a gift card for some store and Robert and I are giving her that necklace his grandmother wanted to be passed on in the family.

To: Mother 2.01 PM  
Alright. I'll figure out something else then...

To: Mother 2.09 PM  
Are there any weapons or other materials she has complained about missing from the armoury?

* * *

Alec was preparing himself mentally for his first potion-making lesson with Ragnor when he got the idea. His studies (making things disappear) were once again a little sluggish now that his focus was fully on the upcoming ceremony. After a day of trying to continue the magic lessons, Ragnor decided to give up for a while. Instead, Alec found an ancient book filled with recipes for the strangest potions.

"Potion making is a skill every self-respecting warlock should at least know the basics of," Ragnor explained while giving Alec a tour of the most common ingredients in his storage. There were many of them. Plants, bodyparts of bugs, animals, even a few things from different downworlders. What could werewolf's nails be used for?

"If potion making is just mixing specific materials, shouldn't anyone be able to do it? Why isn't everyone brewing the potion of healing?"  
"A good question. And you're not the first to think about that. The thing is that for a reason still unknown only warlocks can make the potion work. Many have tried to teach their non-warlock friends the art of brewing some of these potions but no one ever succeeds. My best theory is that it requires some subconscious magic to make this work."

And that's how Alec got his idea. He was a warlock. Even if no one else knew about it, he could use this to his advantage while coming up with a gift. If anyone asked, he could just say that Ragnor helped him. Said warlock also thought it to be a good idea. 

"Viviane might have something fitting for Isabelle. We'll visit her tomorrow. Now, I'll show you how to make the most common base potion. Many of the recipes require you to make a base on which you then build upon to reach the wanted effect..."

* * *

Unlike a few days ago, this time their neighbour had other clients at the time of their arrival. Although, a bother was maybe a more accurate description of the greying man towering over the young-looking shopowner. 

"Quit playing around warlock! I am here to see the owner of this shop, not to deal with arrogant little girls," the bother's arms revealed him to be a shadowhunter. Alec took a step back, glancing towards Ragnor. Viviane didn't look too distressed. She was merely annoyed. Her hair was today flowing free, curls dancing free on her shoulders and instead of the previous historical dress, she was wearing denim overalls. 

"If that is your view on this situation, I am afraid you are here to do nothing, Chasseur d'Ombres. I have already told you this to be my boutique. If you don't apologize and state your business right now, I am afraid you have irritated me too much for me to be any assistance for you. Ever," the shadowhunter didn't seem to get the hint. He sneered. Alec as a trained shadowhunter immediately recognized the man's movements as him reaching for his weapon. 

He did the first thing that came to his mind.  
"Viviane! How's your shop doing? We aren't disturbing anything now, are we?" as the unidentified shadowhunter turned around to see the source of the new voice, Alec made sure to make his bow and arrows as visible as possible. Ragnor seemed to understand what Alec was doing and glared at the man darkly. Or maybe he was doing that before Alec decided to do something.

"This won't be the end, demon spawn," the Shadowhunter hissed towards Viviane and stumped out of the attic.  
"Good afternoon to you two too. I am sorry about that," Viviane smiled at the two other warlocks and signalled for them to come further into the shop.  
"What did he want? A huge favour with little compensation?" Ragnor frowned as he looked his friend over to see there had been no harm done.  
"He had questions he wanted answers for. He didn't elaborate much as you saw, so I don't know much either. Now let the bygones be bygones. How can I help you?"

* * *

Viviane's reputation as an owner of an extensive magical item shopowner seemed like an understatement to Alec. His previous visit had had him going through the aisles by himself. Now Ragnor and Viviane were with him and were able to explain what each object did and what kind of spell all the books held. It was, to put things simply, magical.

In the end, he decided on a pair of daggers. Viviane had demonstrated how they turned into ten centimetre long feathers as a way of concealing them. Those feathers Izzy could then maybe use as decoration in her clothes or hair and so always have a backup weapon with her. It reminded Alec of her whip-bracelet. He realized only afterwards how the black feathers could have been feathers from his mark. Well then, they'd have something in common if she decided to use the daggers like that.

* * *

Now that finally the problem of the gift was dealt with, Alec had the proper time to dread the rest of the problems this ceremony would be causing. What should he tell Izzy and Jace? They still thought he was here to be cured. Should he tell them yet? If things went south, would that ruin Isabelle's big day? What could he tell them then? His time had mostly been spent on learning basic magic. They'd want to know how long he'd stay here in England. 

And there was another thing. Not maybe a problem, but it could very well be one. A promise. Or a suggestion maybe? Proposal.

_"When you go to New York, if you don't want to stay there for too long or you feel too tired to come back here, or anything really, there's no need for a big reason. You can stay at my place, okay. I'll get you home so Ragnor doesn't have to worry about that- or actually wait! You could both come and we could spend a day there! Yes, that's a great idea! Let's do that!"_

So not only was he facing an afternoon filled with hiding his warlockness but also a day with Ragnor and Magnus in New York. 

This would be a long weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me sneakily sneaking in a Good Omens reference: :)))))))))) _nice~_
> 
> My cats have learned that if they scream loudly and for long enough, I will eventually open the bedroom door. Spoiled brats, both of them...
> 
> Oh well, it's not like I don't mind the company. Like, I have absolutely nothing against the fact that I have a slightly overweight ball of fur lying on my back for hours and an arrogant bastard trying to sleep on the keyboard every chance he gets. No, nothing against any of this. No, I love it. :)


End file.
